Dubai Media City Audit Preparation Checklist

Start with the entity and commercial model

A Dubai Media City operation may be an FZLLC, a branch of an international media group or one entity within a regional creative network. Confirm the licensed entity, financial year, reporting framework and intended users before building the audit file.

Map how the business earns: agency fees, production projects, subscriptions, advertising inventory, sponsorship, events, content licences, royalties, platform settlements or equipment and studio services. Identify which entity contracts with clients, owns rights, employs people and bears project risk.

Review Dubai Media City audit services and DDA requirements

Build the timetable from the DDA deadline

DDA Circular 421 requires FZLLCs and branch offices within its scope to prepare and submit annual audited financial statements and an annual return. The ongoing deadline is six months from financial year-end, while a newly registered entity submits after its first completed financial year. Confirm the current workflow for the specific entity.

Work backwards to allow for ledger close, campaign and production reconciliation, evidence collection, audit questions, adjustment decisions, approval and submission. Production schedules and client deadlines do not suspend the financial reporting timetable.

• Nominate an owner and deputy for the audit file.
• Set dates for campaign settlements, production estimates and parent-company information.
• Identify who approves the financial statements, signs filing documents and retains the AXS confirmation.

Reconcile campaigns and client media spend

For each material campaign, connect the client brief and approved media plan to purchase orders, platform or publisher bookings, supplier invoices, proof of placement, agency billing, collections and the ledger. Investigate unspent advances and differences between planned and delivered spend.

Retain rebate, volume-incentive and credit terms. Explain who is entitled to each benefit and when it is recognised. Do not assume that an amount collected from a client and paid to a media supplier is automatically agency revenue or expense.

Document management’s gross-versus-net assessment using the contracts and control of the promised service. The invoice format or a markup by itself may not determine whether the entity acts as principal or agent.

Prepare production projects one by one

Maintain a project register with approved budget, contract value, billing milestones, costs incurred, committed costs, delivery status and expected remaining expenditure. Reconcile production reports to the ledger and explain projects that cross the reporting date.

Retain statements of work, change orders, client acceptance, supplier agreements, call sheets or delivery evidence where relevant, location and equipment costs, talent agreements and insurance claims. Identify cancellations, disputed deliverables and projects expected to make a loss.

Year-end estimates should use information available at the reporting date and be reviewed against subsequent events. A later invoice can support an accrual, but management should still explain the underlying service and cut-off.

Organise content rights and royalty evidence

Create a rights register for material content and licences. Record the owner, licensee, territory, media, duration, exclusivity, minimum guarantee, royalty basis, renewal and termination terms. Reconcile contracts to royalty statements, usage or sales reports, payments and ledger balances.

Separate advances, minimum guarantees, recoupable amounts, prepaid rights and accrued royalties. Explain assumptions where reporting from a platform or distributor arrives after year-end. Confirm whether intellectual property belongs to the local entity or another group company.

Reconcile digital platforms and event settlements

For platform or creator revenue, reconcile underlying sales, views, subscriptions, advertising or in-app activity to platform statements, commissions, refunds, chargebacks, withholding, currency conversion and bank receipts. Retain the terms governing revenue shares and virtual or customer credits.

For events and sponsorships, reconcile contracts, ticketing reports, venue and supplier deposits, sponsorship deliverables and final settlements. Identify cancellation or postponement obligations and commitments continuing after year-end.

Coordinate branches and international groups

Circular 421 permits a branch route using consolidated audited parent financial statements or a standalone extract of branch operations. Confirm the route early because the parent period, framework and completion date may not align with the local deadline.

Keep local records reconciled even where parent statements are submitted. Explain regional contracts, shared creative staff, platforms, intellectual property, production services, management charges and balances recorded centrally.

For related-party transactions, retain the agreement, functional analysis, calculation and proof of delivery. Benchmarking may support an appropriate pricing method or range, but it does not replace the actual transaction or commercial rationale.

Review transfer pricing and benchmarking support

Protect confidential campaign and talent information

Client plans, unreleased productions, audience data and talent agreements may be commercially sensitive. Agree secure evidence-sharing arrangements and provide the fields needed for the engagement. Do not place production credentials or unrestricted platform access in a general folder.

For system-generated reports, retain the report name, parameters, period and extraction date. Reconcile the total to the ledger and document manual adjustments. A spreadsheet without a controlled source and reconciliation is not a completed audit schedule.

Keep final accounts and tax work consistent

Before approval, reconcile the financial statements to the final trial balance and adjustment list. Check the legal name, reporting period, comparatives and signatories. Ensure that tax and group-reporting teams receive approved figures and explanations for relevant changes.

A Dubai Media City licence does not by itself determine Corporate tax treatment. International media, digital services, rights and events may also create transaction-specific VAT questions. Document the facts and obtain advice appropriate to the arrangement.

Review Corporate tax support

Request a properly scoped audit proposal

SAIF Chartered Accountants supports Dubai Media City businesses with annual audit, accounting readiness, DDA reporting coordination and related tax and transfer pricing services. Share the licence, financial year, trial balance, prior report and required date. Explain campaigns, productions, rights, platforms, branches and group transactions so the work can be scoped accurately.

Accounting preparation and independent audit are distinct services. Any assistance is separately agreed and considered against applicable independence requirements. Management remains responsible for the records, accounting decisions and financial statements.

Discuss your Dubai Media City reporting file