About the changes
What are the new lease accounting changes?
On May 16, 2013, the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published a revised exposure draft outlining proposed changes to lease accounting. This will alter current accounting and financial disclosure requirements for both real estate and equipment leases. The revised exposure draft continues to require a lessee to recognize assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by a lease, but has modified the method of determining expense recognition and other reporting requirements that were introduced in the original draft. The proposed changes will significantly impact your business, financial position and operations.
Get educated
FASB: Exposure draft of proposed Accounting Standards Update
IASB and FASB propose changes to lease accounting
How will the new regulations affect me?
Your organization can expect significant impacts. Click below to read about a few of the most important changes:
Buy vs. lease decisions The criteria for deciding whether to lease or buy will fundamentally change and you'll have to adjust your portfolio strategy accordingly. With the new regulations, it will no longer be possible to manage the balance sheet through operating leases.
Evaluations How real estate options are evaluated will also need to change. Duration, options, and borrowing rates will all come into play.
Administrative burdens Your company will now have to record real estate commitments differently and the frequency in which leases are reviewed will increase. Historically, once an operating lease was executed, the rent was normalized and reported using straight-line accounting.
Under the new rules, complex calculations will be required at the time the lease is executed, and the value will change each year. The result is complex accounting entries to both the income statement and balance sheet. Each year, every lease will need to be reviewed, current expectations on the future use of the leased property need to be made, and the accounting entries have to be adjusted to reflect the change in expectations.
Data volume The volume of real estate data collection and reporting will increase dramatically. This will include additional details on the future plans for each property as well as expectations on renewals.
The role of CRE Executives and treasury will rely more on CRE teams to provide critical data and analysis for strategic business decisions.
What can I do to prepare for the new standards?
To prepare for the changes, your organization needs to move quickly to ensure you are ready to meet new requirements. Corporate Real Estate (CRE) executives have an opportunity to rethink their leasing strategies and processes to ensure ongoing success for the broader organization.