2016年1月13日，《國際財務(wù)報告準(zhǔn)則第16號——租賃》發(fā)布。它替代了三十多年前提出的會計要求，這些要求不再符合財務(wù)報告的目標(biāo)；它對企業(yè)就租賃業(yè)務(wù)進(jìn)行會計處理的方式做了較大修正。

租賃為許多公司提供了一個重要且靈活的融資渠道。但舊準(zhǔn)則（IAS17）使投資者及其他利益相關(guān)者很難準(zhǔn)確了解一個公司的租賃資產(chǎn)及負(fù)債情況，尤其是航空、零售及運(yùn)輸領(lǐng)域。

據(jù)估計，采用國際財務(wù)報告準(zhǔn)則（IFRS）或美國通用會計準(zhǔn)則(US AAP)的上市公司，有近3.3萬億的租賃承付款；其中超過85%的款項沒有顯示在公司的資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表中。這是因為現(xiàn)行租賃業(yè)務(wù)被劃分為融資租賃和經(jīng)營租賃兩大類，前者需要在資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表中披露，后者則只需在財務(wù)報告附注澤稷開。

這種有些武斷的區(qū)分使投資者對目標(biāo)公司的選擇、對比變得困難。這也意味著投資者和其他利益相關(guān)者不得不評估公司表外租賃債務(wù)的影響，而這實(shí)際上經(jīng)常導(dǎo)致高估租賃債務(wù)引發(fā)的負(fù)債問題。新版準(zhǔn)則IFRS16要求所有租賃業(yè)務(wù)都要以資產(chǎn)和負(fù)債的形式在資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表中披露，從而解決了上述問題。

IASB主席漢斯·胡格沃斯特（Hans Hoogervorst）評論稱：“這些新的會計要求把租賃會計處理帶入21世紀(jì)，結(jié)束了投資決策中，對公司頻繁的大宗租賃債務(wù)的種種臆測。”

“新準(zhǔn)則滿足了對公司租賃資產(chǎn)和負(fù)債情況所急需的透明度，這意味著資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表外的租賃財務(wù)狀況不再被隱藏。這也將凸顯以’租賃’和’購買’為不同業(yè)務(wù)模式的公司間的對比性。”

新的租賃準(zhǔn)則已經(jīng)過多輪公眾意見征詢及理事會層面的廣泛評議，所有環(huán)節(jié)都是公開進(jìn)行的。

在新準(zhǔn)則的開發(fā)上，國際會計準(zhǔn)則理事會（IASB）和美國財務(wù)會計準(zhǔn)則委員會（FASB）保持了密切合作。兩會在把租賃業(yè)務(wù)引入資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表這個中心議題、對租賃的定義及如何估算租賃負(fù)債情況上意見一致。

《國際財務(wù)報告準(zhǔn)則第16號——租賃》（IFRS16）將于2019年1月1日生效。采用《國際財務(wù)報告準(zhǔn)則第15號——源自客戶合同的收入》的企業(yè)，獲準(zhǔn)可以率先適用16號準(zhǔn)則。

注釋：在3萬家采用國際財務(wù)報告準(zhǔn)則（IFRS）或美國通用會計準(zhǔn)則（US GAAP）的上市公司樣本中，超過1.4萬家在其2014年年報中披露了資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表外的租賃財務(wù)狀況。在未貼現(xiàn)的情況下，這些公司未來要為表外租賃業(yè)務(wù)承付的款項金額共計2.9萬億美元。

詳情見下文：

The main change in the new lease accounting standard – IFRS 16, Leases – is that it requires entities to account for all non-exempt leases (by election) as finance leases, putting them on the entity’s balance sheet (the requirement mainly affects lessee accounting; lessor accounting remains largely unchanged). The International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) aim is to bring greater clarity to lease accounting so that users of financial statements don’t need to estimate the impact of ‘off balance sheet’ financing.

With an effective date of 1 January 2019, the board has allowed a three-year transition period, during which entities will confirm their date of initial application of the standard, which has to be ‘the earliest period presented in the financial statements in the period that the standard is applied for the first time’. Early adoption is permitted if an organisation also applies IFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, at or before the date of early application, although this is likely to appeal to lessors more than lessees. However, almost all new leases currently being negotiated are likely to fall within the remit of the new standard.

The rules may seem far off, but planning early will be important for minimising the balance sheet impact

Don’t be blind-sided

The transition period allows organisations to develop the necessary internal procedures before they implement the standard. By starting early, management will be better positioned to manage the process and minimise the surprises. The rules may seem far off, but planning early will be important for minimising the balance sheet impact; even a renewal option on a single-lease contract could have a sizeable effect on shareholder equity. Many organisations could be blind-sided in due course if they don’t start preparing in good time.

Here’s what to start thinking about:

• Start gaining an understanding of the new standard; note the divergence between IFRS and US GAAP if this applies to you. Entities reporting under both IFRS and US GAAP might have some additional work to do.

• Carry out a strategic evaluation of all existing leases – that is, assess what leases are currently in place and how many assets are currently on lease. You should re-assess your current active leases and review which will be affected. Under certain circumstances, a ‘portfolio’ approach may be taken for leases with similar characteristics. All leases coming into force after the standard’s effective date should be accounted for under the new standard, but existing leases that currently use IAS 17 and extend into the date of initial application will need special treatment to ensure that accurate and comparative data is collected.

• Analyse each lease contract to identify the key data that will enable them to be brought onto the balance sheet and, where necessary, make changes to the income statement. Gathering the necessary data on these lease contracts – such as important dates, discount rates, asset lives and depreciation policies – may seem like a daunting and expensive task for large and global businesses with high volumes of active leases over a variety of assets, in numerous locations and with different suppliers. It could take a great deal of time and resource, and will require considerable planning.

• For expiring leases, consider on a case-by-case basis if leasing will still be the most appropriate form of financing or if new financing facilities should be lease-financed.

• Assess whether or not you have the expertise inhouse for making the transition to the new accounting, and whether this and/or the ongoing accounting should be outsourced to organisations that provide lease consultancy services and software.

• Depending on your conclusion to that, you should assess whether or not you will need new bespoke lease software to manage the new lease transactions; this will depend on the level of your leases’ complexity.

• Review the integrity of your lease processes and data to ensure that it satisfies future audit review.

• Leveraged entities will have to consider the impact on gearing ratios and interest cover in bringing current operating leases onto the balance sheet, and begin discussions with the bank or other finance providers to understand their views. EBITDA will also be affected.

Transition

Entities are required to employ a retrospective approach to collecting and reporting on leases previously accounted for as operating leases. However, there is an optional relief upon transition: entities can choose not to revisit contracts already deemed not to be leases (under IFRIC 4) and only transition those non-exempt contracts. A disclosure of the approach taken would be required.

There is no ‘grandfathering’ provision thereafter – that is, all non-exempt (by election) current operating leases that continue beyond the year of transition will require consideration. However, there is a further exemption (by election) for leases whose terms end within 12 months or less of the date of initial application. A lessee could apply this short-term lease exemption provided there is no purchase option. There is also an exemption for ‘low-value’ leases (subject to conditions) where the underlying asset is of low value when new. These could include IT equipment (tablets and PCs), small items of office furniture and telephones (but not cars).

Comparatives

Under the new standard, entities that opt for the fully retrospective approach will need to account for all leases – whether they be new agreements, or existing leases where the end-of-the-lease date extends beyond the date of initial application. This provides more accurate comparative data but requires the sourcing of historic lease data. This may present challenges where this data is not held or is out of date, and could be time-consuming and difficult for large lease portfolios.

However, in order to help reduce the costs of transitioning to the new standard, the IASB offers an alternative approach – the ‘cumulative catch-up method’. Under this approach, a lessee is not required to restate comparative figures; it recognises the cumulative effect of applying the new standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings (or another part of equity) at the date of initial application. In addition, the lessee measures the lease liability at the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted using the lessee’s incremental borrowing rate at the initial date of application. A single discount rate can be applied to a portfolio of leases with similar characteristics. There are other elements to the modified retrospective approach, but essentially this is likely to be the less onerous approach (and might be less costly). However, it could be a more complex method and produce less detailed data.

Next steps

The first step is to create a project team involving as many stakeholders as required (for example, finance, tax and purchasing departments) and create a transition plan. Next, evaluate the exemption options and which of the two transition comparative approaches best suits your organisation, and then how this will be implemented: in-house expertise vs external consultants, bespoke software etc. Data-gathering and contract analyses will take considerable time, and an understanding of what is current and what contracts need to be renewed will also be required. Discussions with finance providers will need to take place in order to ensure that banking covenants are not adversely affected. There will also need to be effective engagement and communication with investors and shareholders as to the effects of the change and what this means for the financial statements.

After 10 years as a concept, it is now a reality and as long as companies start planning soon, there should be sufficient time to ensure a successful transition.

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