Future of Lease Accounting

Premium
  • 2005: SEC report on off-balance sheet financing stated that lease standards should be revised.
  • 2006: FASB and IASB agreed to incorporate lease accounting into their project plans.
  • General Sentiment: Current lease accounting model is broken and current rules for distinguishing between operating and capital leases provides firms with the opportunity to structure their balance sheets.
  • Future: Operating leases are expected to be eliminated and firms will gross up their balance sheets with assets and liabilities.