Area Development Homepage >> Asset Management >>

The New Lease Accounting Paradigm

New lease accounting rules will revise how all businesses account for property. Here's how to best prepare for the changes.

Vivian Mumaw, Global Leader, Lease Administration, Jones Lang LaSalle and Mindy Berman, Managing Director, Corporate Finance, Jones Lang LaSalle (Winter 2011)

A long-anticipated draft of proposed lease accounting changes was released on August 17, 2010 by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). By now, most corporate real estate (CRE) executives know of the new paradigm for lease accounting and the impact of putting all leases on the balance sheet. The reality of the proposal is now shifting the focus to potential changes in leasing strategy and practices, as well as meeting requirements for future lease administration.

The draft, known as the Exposure Draft, is the latest step in a lengthy process to require capitalization of all real estate and equipment leases on balance sheets by recognizing the rights and obligations of lessees. Although a 120-day period of public comment follows the Exposure Draft's release, the regulation's core elements will probably not change. A final standard is expected to be issued in mid-2011, with an effective date yet to be determined, but likely no sooner than January 1, 2013.

Enlarge This Image

Consult this chart to learn how lease accounting changes will affect your business.

Editors Picks

The perceived lack of transparency regarding off-balance sheet obligations and the complexity of current lease accounting are driving pressure to revamp the three-decades-old leasing standard.

Today, businesses choose from two methods to classify leases: operating or capital leases. Under the new approach, organizations will recognize a liability for obligations to pay rent and a corresponding asset representing the right to use the underlying leased property. Placing the full lease obligation on the balance sheet - and the resulting negative drag on corporate earnings - will dramatically affect companies' perceived financial performance. Changes in financial reporting will be daunting and cumbersome, as companies must capture new data to support the capitalization of obligations based on internal evaluation of occupancy practices and property use, then regularly re-evaluate those assumptions and adjust income statements and balance sheets accordingly.

Ask Area Development

Need details on how lease accounting changes could affect your company? Submit your business questions below to Ask Area Development and the article authors will respond.

How Will Companies Respond?
It's still unknown how companies will react and how significantly they will alter the use of leases and desired lease terms. Companies may react by seeking shorter-term leases or favoring ownership if property use goes on the balance sheet anyway. The changes will certainly push companies to articulate and validate the reasons for leasing, such as flexibility in occupancy and preservation of capital for core business activities.

Given the principles-based approach of the new leasing standard, certain transactions, such as sale-lease backs and build-to-suit arrangements, could be easier to execute. Most importantly, they may be achieved with better economic terms for tenants and better suited to their true business objectives. While the standard setters' concerns about financial engineering of leases frame much of the new approach, these transactions may better align with corporate goals.

The new standard will disproportionately affect business sectors that rely heavily on real estate to generate revenue. Obvious industry candidates are retail, but commercial banking, with its substantial customer service operations, will also see effects. Retailers operating on notoriously thin margins will see net margins erode substantially. The reported increase in occupancy expense for retailers will be exacerbated by a potential tendency to capitalize renewal periods and recognize higher rents under percentage sale arrangements. Although the transition date has not been released, the sweeping changes in financial reporting will prompt companies to begin planning their adaptations immediately. The immediate demands will be to:

• Assess the suitability of existing lease administration and reporting systems to accommodate the new accounting requirements;
• Plan for enhancement of lease abstracts and processes for additional data capture for existing leases; and
• Create standards for assessment of obligations for lease term, net lease expenses, and contingent rent that will survive audit review.

Page1 2 Next >>

Save/Share Article

About the Author

Vivian Mumaw, Global Leader, Lease Administration, Jones Lang LaSalle
Within her 20-year tenure at Jones Lang LaSalle, Vivian Mumaw has served in a number of progressive financial and operational roles, including the Chief Financial Officer for the America’s region and Chief Operating Officer of the Project and Development Services business in the Americas. In her previous role as Director of Product Development and Innovation for the Corporate Solutions business, she fostered continuous improvement across the firm’s capabilities, leveraging the innovations and best practices created on client service teams, integrating services and innovations across the platform and building efficiencies through shared processes and technology. Mumaw earned an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and has her CPA.

More articles by Vivian Mumaw

Companies Need to React Now to Proposed FASB Lease Account Rules Changes

Mindy Berman, Managing Director, Corporate Finance, Jones Lang LaSalle
Mindy Berman serves the firm’s corporate and investor clients by developing and executing financial strategies for their occupancy, investment, and capital requirements related to real estate, assisting them in the analysis and evaluation of deal structures to help meet their economic and financial reporting objectives. Berman has 30 years of corporate finance experience structuring and arranging financing for the fixed assets of major corporations to meet their economic, financial, operational, tax, and financial reporting objectives. Berman earned an MBA from the Boston University Graduate School of Management and a BA from Brandeis University.

ASK AREA DEVELOPMENT

Have questions, comments or concerns about this article? Submit to Ask Area Development here and the author or an expert from our network of site selection and facility planning professionals will answer:

Privacy policy / GuidelinesArea Development will select a number of questions to answer each week. An Area Development representative will contact the submitting reader directly with feedback. Additionally, all submissions are eligible to appear online or in our print publication. If your question is selected for publication we will include and publish your first name, job title and industry only. The full identity of the submitting reader will not appear in published format.Area Development will not publish, share with any third parties, or use for marketing purposes any personal information submitted here without the express consent of the submitting reader.

What complexities in current lease accounting do the proposed new rules address?

Developed in the mid-1970s, current lease accounting rules are actually not relatively complex, and as a result the function of lease accounting has generally been thought of as a back-office function. The proposed new lease accounting rules, however, will bring a heightened level of complexity, elevating lease accounting from the back office to an extremely critical aspect of a company's operations. More
- Michael Billing, Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle

How long do you anticipate it will take for most businesses to fully adapt to the changes?

The new standards are going to bring complex changes to the lease accounting process and will require companies to do some heavy lifting. Directors of corporate real estate will be challenged just to understand how their organization will be affected, let alone how to plan accordingly and reformulate leasing strategies. And with each lease potentially requiring a reevaluation every quarter, the administrative workload is expanding exponentially. More
- Michael Billing, Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle

Why is it important for companies to begin preparing for the lease accounting changes now when they won't go into effect any earlier than 2013?

As it stands today, the new standard is currently being finalized with anticipation that it will be released at some point this summer, so we don't even quite know what the final standards will ultimately be. However, companies should not wait so that they are more than prepared once the changes go into effect. More
- Michael Billing, Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle

News Items

Around The Web

Studies/Research

News Items

Around The Web

Studies/Research

FreeWave Technologies Moves Into Larger Corporate Headquarters In Boulder, Colorado

State Resource map

Click on any state for links to current state news and data, contact directory, corporate taxes, financial and business incentives, credits, grants and available buildings and sites

State Resource Sponsor