Please note: ELFA members are welcome to share the following documents with your staff, vendor partners, end-users and other stakeholders. If you reproduce this material, please credit ELFA as follows: “This information is brought to you by COMPANY NAME and the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.”

Tools to Prepare:

• Time Is On Your Side: Making the Most of the Delay in Lease Accounting Changes
  
• The Silver Lining of Lease Accounting: What Organizations Should Know About the New Standard.
• Infographic for Lessees: 8 Steps to Ease the Transition to the New Lease Accounting Rules
• Organizational checklist for lessors to meet lessee needs under the new lease accounting rules
• Bylined Article: Changes to Lessees’ Financial Statements Under the New Lease Accounting Standard
• FAQ for Lessees: Answers to Your Questions About the New Rules
• Top 6 Tips for Lessors to Prepare for the New Rules
• Infographic: Top 5 Tips to Prepare for the New Lease Accounting Rules

• Submit Your Lease Accounting Questions
To help you prepare for the new lease accounting standard, ASC 842, ELFA’s Financial Accounting Committee has created a Lease Accounting Resource Group (LARG) comprised of key industry lease accounting experts. The goal of the LARG is to solicit or identify technical accounting questions and issues related to the implementation of ASC 842 and provide ELFA members with opinions and guidance to consider in your implementation. Learn more and submit your questions or concerns.

News

• FASB proposes delay in accounting standards
  FASB voted on July 17 to propose delaying the effective dates for both the leases and credit losses standards. Read more
• ELFA Submits Comment Letter
  In September 2018 ELFA filed a formal Comment Letter with the FASB on proposed amendments to the new lease accounting standard.  The Proposed Accounting Standards Update, Leases (Topic 842):  Narrow-Scope Improvements for Lessors, responds to three post-issuance questions:  the accounting for sales, use and similar taxes; the accounting for other costs paid by a lessee that may benefit a lessor; and variable payments when contracts have lease and non-lease components. Read the letter.
• FASB proposes three simplifications for lessors
  On Aug. 13, 2018, the FASB released for comment three proposals to simplify lessor accounting.  The first relates to sales taxes collected by lessors, the second to costs paid by lessees related to the leased asset (such as insurance and property taxes) and the third to variable payments in combined lease and service arrangements. The proposals are available at the FASB website.  Comments on these proposals are due on Sept. 12, 2018.  ELFA is in the process of reviewing this Proposed Accounting Standards Update to ASC 842 and plans to submit a comment letter.
• FASB Finalizes Two Major Changes to the Leases Standard
  On July 30, 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, which makes two significant changes to the leasing standard. The first change will allow companies to adopt the standard without restating prior financial results. The second change will allow operating lessors to not separate lease and non-lease components (rents and services, for example) if the recognition pattern is the same. The ASU is available on the FASB's website.
• FASB Finalizes Technical Amendments to the Leasing Standard
  On July 18, 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases.  The amendments, which were exposed earlier in the year, are a series of technical corrections to Leases and do not mark any broad changes to the standard.  There are eight amendments in total.  Of particular interest to lessors are issues:
  1. No. 2, addressing situations where there might be a negative implicit rate in a lease;
  2. No. 4, covering instances when a lease is modified;
  3. No. 6, clarifying the impact on ITC on a lessor's accounting.
• FASB Agrees to Amendments to Help Ease Burden of Leases Implementation
  At a November 2017 meeting, the FASB agreed to incorporate two amendments to help ease the burden of adoption and implementation of the new lease accounting standard (Topic 842). Read more.

Articles

• See "Bylined Articles for Your Customers" under "Tools for Lessees" below
• Article Series (QuickBrief E-Newsletter)
  • Part 1: The New Standard’s Impact on Lessor Internal Accounting Issues
  • Part 2: The New Standard’s Impact on the Lease vs. Buy Decision
  • Part 3: The New Standard’s Impact on Lessors’ Customer Interaction
  • Part 4: The New Lease Accounting Standard’s Impact on Lessor Product and Structuring Opportunities
• Articles Series (EL&F Magazine)
  • Comparing the New Lease Accounting Standards: How Do the Provisions of Topic 842 Compare with IFRS 16?
  • Part 1: Internal Preparation for Lessors
  • Part 2: System Application Impacts
  • Part 3: System Application Impacts
• White Papers:
  • Navigating the New Lease Accounting Standard
  • Changes in Lease Accounting

Training

• Don't miss the annual ELFA Lease and Finance Accountants Conference. Learn more.
• Recording of March 2, 2016, Workshop: Doing Business Under the New Lease Accounting Standard
• Recording and Q&A transcript from Feb. 9, 2016, Lease Accounting Web Seminar
• ELFA will offer customized in-house training on the new rules. For more information, please contact Alexa Carnibella at 202.238.3416 or acarnibella@elfaonline.org.

Related Resources and Analysis:

• 7 Common pitfalls to avoid for companies moving to IFRS 16 (January 2019)
• Taming the Monster: A Roadmap to ASC 842 Compliance - This white paper from Bloomberg Tax explains the risks, benefits and challenges of ASC 842 compliance and offers a five-step guide to help organizations meet deadlines, minimize risks, overcome hurdles and accelerate the implementation process.
• Bloomberg Tax Infographic: The Path to ASC 842 Compliance - In the first half of 2018 Bloomberg Tax surveyed over 500 professionals responsible for tracking, accounting or expensing leased assets. This was done to get an understanding of how far along organizations were in their planning and implementation process in preparation for ASC 842 compliance. This infographic illustrates what we found.
• EY: FASB adds transition option and practical expedient for lessors to new leases standard (July 2018)
• EY: How the new leases standard affects oil and gas entities (July 2018)
• Basel Committee on Banking Supervision: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions related to the changes to lease accounting promulgated by the IASB and FASB (April 2017)
• EY: Financial Reporting Developments: Accounting Standards Codification 842, Leases (January 2017)
• Articles by expert Bill Bosco: The New Rules: FASB vs. IASB What are the differences? and Lease Accounting Rules Issued in 2016
• PWC: Leasing video series and 2016 Leases Guide
• KPMG: Leases Issues in Depth (April 1, 2016)
• CHP Consulting: Lease Accounting Reform: The Systems Impact for Asset Finance Lessors (March 24, 2016)
• Deloitte: Bring It On! FASB’s New Standard Brings Most Leases Onto the Balance Sheet (March 1, 2016)
• Deloitte: Real Estate Spotlight: A Walk-Through of the FASB’s New Leases (March 2016)

• Press Statement (Feb. 25, 2016)