COMCAST CORP
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Jan 31, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Jan 31, 2024
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Comcast Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, cash flows, and changes in equity for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
Basis for Opinions
The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures to respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Connectivity & Platforms Revenue Recognition - Refer to Note 3 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
The Company’s Connectivity & Platforms businesses generate revenue from customers that subscribe to broadband and wireless connectivity services, video services and wireline voice services. These services are offered to customers individually and as bundled services at a discounted rate. The processing and recording of revenue are reliant upon multiple information technology (IT) systems.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Given the volume of data and the number of IT systems, subjective auditor judgment was involved in evaluating the sufficiency of audit evidence over revenue recognition for bundled services within the Connectivity & Platforms businesses, including the involvement of professionals with expertise in IT to identify, test, and evaluate the Company’s systems and automated controls used in processing revenue transactions.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures related to the judgments necessary to determine the appropriate recognition and processing of revenue included the following, among others:
We tested the effectiveness of management’s controls in the revenue recognition processes, including those in place to (a) establish revenue recognition accounting policies, (b) record revenue, including any related discounts, in accordance with the established accounting policies, and (c) reconcile the various systems to the Company’s general ledger.
With the assistance of our IT specialists, we:
Identified the relevant systems and databases used to process revenue transactions and tested the relevant IT controls over each of those systems and databases.
Performed testing of automated business controls over revenue from domestic residential and business customers.
We tested the accuracy and completeness of the subscriber information used in our audit procedures by selecting a sample of the subscribers, and for those selections agreeing the selected subscriber information to supporting documentation.
We developed expectations of revenue at a disaggregated level based on historical transaction prices, changes in stand-alone selling prices and current year volumes. We compared those estimates to revenue recognized by the Company.
Film and Television Costs - Refer to Note 4 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
The Company amortizes capitalized film and television production costs that are predominantly monetized on an individual basis using the individual film forecast computation method, which amortizes such costs using the ratio of current period revenue to the total remaining revenue forecasted to be realized, also known as “ultimate revenue.” The estimates of ultimate revenue have a significant impact on the rate at which capitalized costs are amortized.
The determination of ultimate revenue for capitalized film and television costs requires the Company to make significant estimates of future revenue based on the distribution strategy and historical performance of similar content, as well as factors unique to the content itself. Given the judgments necessary to estimate ultimate revenue, auditing these estimates involved especially subjective judgment.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures related to forecasts of ultimate revenue for individual film or television productions included the following, among others:
We tested the effectiveness of management’s controls over its amortization of film and television costs, including controls over forecasts of ultimate revenue.
We evaluated management’s methodology for the selection of inputs and assumptions, including considering the historical performance of similar titles, expected distribution platforms, factors unique to the individual film or television production, and third-party projections.
For selected film and television titles, we:
Tested certain inputs and assumptions used to estimate ultimate revenue, including agreeing box office performance to third party sources, and recalculating estimated future revenue for licensing arrangements based on contractual terms.
Evaluated the historical accuracy of management’s forecast of future revenues by comparing actual results to management’s historical estimates of ultimate revenue.
We developed expectations of amortization expense at a disaggregated level based on historical revenue patterns and compared those estimates to amortization recognized by the Company.
/s/Deloitte & Touche LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 31, 2024
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1963.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.