ELFA - Equipment Leasing and Finance Association - Equipping Business for Success


2014

  • Nov. 11, 2014 - GASB publishes proposed changes to lease accounting for state and local governments.
  • Oct. 14, 2014 - ELFA has filed a comment letter with the FASB and IASB on the Boards' deliberations on accounting for sale leasebacks. Read the letter.
  • Oct. 8, 2014 - Read CG Commercial Finance's update on the GAAP/IFRS convergence project: Top 10 Questions on GAAP/IFRS Convergence Answered by CG Commercial Finance and Bill Bosco
  • Sept. 2, 2014 - The FASB met on Aug. 27 and voted to grandfather transactions booked as leveraged leases in financial statements. Grandfathering these deals means that leveraged leases do not have to be restated when the new accounting rules take effect, which is expected not before 2018 (although the Board has not yet formally decided on a transition date for the new rules.) ELFA has written numerous comment letters to the Board and met with Board members and staff on this matter. In a meeting with the FASB and staff this summer, representatives of the ELFA and American Bankers Association explained the economic benefits of leveraged leases, which is credited with helping persuade the Boards to keep this accounting for previously booked transactions. In the bigger picture, it appears likely that the IASB and FASB will be unable to issue a single set of harmonized rules governing lease accounting on a worldwide basis. While there is consensus on some issues, there is clear disagreement on others, and the Boards do not seem to be willing or able to come together on those.
  • Aug. 12, 2014 - The IASB and FASB met on July 23, 2014, to continue deliberations on changing accounting standards governing lease transactions. Specifically, they considered sale leaseback, lessor disclosure and related accounting issues. Read an overview of the meeting.
  • Aug. 1, 2014 - The Summer issue of ELFA's magazine includes an update on the lease accounting project by Bill Bosco and James Barker, "Lease Accounting Project Moves Forward."
  • June 25, 2014 - In a new letter to the IASB and FASB, ELFA responds to a recent Compliance Week article on the Leases project.
  • June 19, 2014 - Most Recent IASB/FASB Meeting Nets Favorable Decisions on the Leases Project: Overview of June 18, 2014, FASB/IASB Lease Project Board Meeting. The boards still seem to be on track for issuing new rules in the first half of 2015.
  • April 24, 2014 - The latest issue of Ernst & Young's "To the Point" reports that Accounting Boards Continue to Make Progress on Leases Project
  • March 20, 2014 - At a joint FASB/IASB meeting March 18-19, the Boards remained at odds on key lessee issues. Read a brief summary of what was discussed.
  • Jan. 27, 2014 - On Jan. 23, the FASB and IASB held a joint non-decision making meeting to discuss the Leases Project. Its purpose was to identify a number of proposed options and staff recommendations to be considered at future decision-making meetings, the next of which will be scheduled sometime in March at the FASB offices in Norwalk, CT. Read a brief summary of what was discussed.