Off-Balance Sheet Items: Operating Leases and Special-Purpose Entities

2015 ◽  
pp. 159-172
Keyword(s):  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Operating Leases ◽  
Special Purpose Entities

The Relation between Accounting Information in Debt Covenants and Operating Leases

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 969-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Gyung H. Paik ◽  
Joyce A. van der Laan Smith ◽  
Brandon Byunghwan Lee ◽  
Sung Wook Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Debt Covenants ◽  
Debt Contracts ◽  
Debt Contracting ◽  
Income Statement ◽  
Operating Leases ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Accounting Ratios ◽  
Lease Accounting

SYNOPSIS Proposed changes by the FASB and the IASB to lease accounting standards will substantially change the accounting for operating leases by requiring the capitalization of future lease payments. We consider the impact of these changes on firms' debt covenants by examining the frequency of income-statement- versus balance-sheet-based accounting ratios in debt covenants of firms in high and low Off Balance Sheet (OBS) lease industries. Based on debt contracts from the 1996–2009 period, our results provide evidence that lenders focus on balance sheet (income statement) ratios in designing debt covenants for borrowers in low (high) OBS lease industries. Further, the use of balance-sheet- (income-statement-) based covenants falls (rises) faster in high OBS lease industries than in low OBS lease industries as the use of OBS leasing increases. This evidence indicates that OBS operating leases influence lenders' use of accounting information in covenants, suggesting that creditors consider the impact of OBS leases when structuring debt agreements. These results also suggest that the proposed capitalization of OBS leases may not result in firms violating loan covenants but will make the balance sheet a more complete source of information for debt contracting by removing the need for constructive capitalization of OBS leases.

scholarly journals Constructive Capitalization of Operating Leases in the Hong Kong Fast-Food Industry

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Y. Tai
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Financial Accounting Standards Board ◽  
Return On Assets ◽  
Fast Food Industry ◽  
Operating Leases ◽  
Lease Contracts

The current study is undertaken to investigate the potential problems resulting from the proposed adoption of a new accounting standard concerning mandatory capitalization of all lease contracts.  In 2010, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a joint exposure draft (ED2010/9) on accounting for leases.  Under the new standard, lessees are required to capitalize all lease contracts as assets and liabilities.  The distinction between operating leases and capital (finance) leases will no longer exist.  The long-standing off-balance sheet treatment of operating leases will be prohibited.  After the adoption of the proposed standard, companies with significant operating leases are likely to experience an increase in assets, increase in liabilities, and decrease in equity, resulting in the deterioration of their return-on- assets and debt-to-equity ratios.  This research examines two large fast-food restaurant chains based in Hong Kong; and through constructive capitalization, demonstrates how the companies’ key financial ratios are negatively impacted if the new standard is implemented.  The results indicate that both the return-on-assets and debt-to-equity ratios of the two companies, under various discount rates assumptions, suffer serious deterioration when their operating leases are capitalized.

A Perspective on the Joint IASB/FASB Exposure Draft on Accounting for Leases

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 861-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Biondi ◽  
Robert J. Bloomfield ◽  
Jonathan C. Glover ◽  
Karim Jamal ◽  
James A. Ohlson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Accounting Standards Board ◽  
Operating Leases ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lease Accounting

SYNOPSIS The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently issued a joint exposure draft on accounting for leases. This exposure draft seeks to shift lease accounting from an “ownership” model to a “right-of-use” model. Under the current ownership model, leases can be reported on balance sheet (finance leases) if certain tests are met, or off balance sheet (operating leases) if those tests are not met. The new model seeks to report all leases on the balance sheet based on the present value of lease obligations without any bright line tests, and no sharp on or off the balance sheet classifications. We are sympathetic to the standard setters' concern that the current lease standard is being manipulated improperly by managers, resulting in large amounts of debt being reported off balance sheet. We provide a discussion of current lease accounting and the proposed exposure draft. We also comment on five key issues covered by the exposure draft: the definition of a lease, the initial measurement and eventual reassessment at fair values, the accounting for lessors, the impact of lease accounting on recognition and income measurement, and classification of lease accounting elements and their impact on accounting ratios. JEL Classifications: M40.

scholarly journals The Joint FASB/IASB Lease Project: Discussion And Industry Implications

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Kostolansky ◽  
Brian Stanko
Keyword(s):  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Accounting Standards Board ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Operating Leases ◽  
Accounting Rules ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lease Accounting

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Over several decades, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board have enacted numerous changes to the controversial lease accounting rules. As currently prescribed, operating leases are treated as rental arrangements whereby the lessee does not record a liability - a situation generally referred to as off-balance sheet financing. In an attempt to increase transparency and comparability, the FASB and IASB will soon require all leases to be capitalized. This paper quantifies the impact of the new leasing standard on the financial statements and ratios of the firms and industries represented in the S&amp;P 100 under a variety of discount rates. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>

scholarly journals The effects of listing status on a firm’s lease accounting: Evidence from South Korea

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Younghee Park ◽  
Kyunga Na
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Current Accounting ◽  
Operating Leases ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lease Accounting ◽  
Unlisted Firms ◽  
Debt Levels

This study examines how the listing status affects a firm’s choice of lease accounting, using 7,023 firm-year observations that record either an operating or a capital lease from 2001 to 2013 in Korea. We find that unlisted firms are more likely to opt for operating leases, and to have a higher ratio of operating leases than listed firms are. These results indicate that unlisted firms tend to prefer operating leases which can be used as a tool to avoid increasing debt levels and to benefit from off-balance sheet financing (or unrecorded liabilities), compared to listed firms. This study contributes to the current accounting literature as it is the first to provide empirical evidence regarding the impact of the listing status on a firm’s lease accounting.

Are leases substitutes or complements to debt? Insights from an analysis of debt covenants

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-361
Author(s):  
Daniel Gyung Paik ◽  
Joyce Van Der Laan Smith ◽  
Brandon Byunghwan Lee ◽  
Sung Wook Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Financial Constraints ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Counterparty Risk ◽  
Debt Covenants ◽  
Risk Profiles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Operating Leases ◽  
Study Support ◽  
Debt Covenant

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between off-balance-sheet (OBS) operating leases and long-term debt by analyzing firms’ debt risk profiles measured by the constraints on firms in the financial ratios in their debt covenants. Design/methodology/approach This study determines debt risk profiles using three measures: the ex ante probability of covenant violation (Demerjian and Owens, 2016), firms in violation of debt covenants and firms close to covenant violations. Findings High-risk firms according to all three measures, on average, have a significantly lower level of operating leases, indicating that these firms use OBS leases as a substitute for long-term debt. Interestingly, for firms operating in industries in which leases are widely available, firms with a high probability of covenant violation have a significantly higher level of operating leases, indicating that these firms use OBS leases as a complement to long-term debt. Further analysis indicates that lease financing is less costly than debt financing for these firms. Research limitations/implications Overall, evidence of this study indicates that firms facing financial constraints may attempt to lease more of their assets, but the availability of leasing is constrained by their debt covenant obligations and the strength of the leasing market in its industry. Originality/value This study identifies states in which risky firms may treat leases as either complements or substitutes for long-term debt, implying that the leasing decision relates to the availability of an active leasing market for a firm’s assets and the firm’s financial constraints. The findings of this study support recent research showing that debt and leases are complementary in the presence of counterparty risk providing insight into the paradoxical relationship identified in prior research between leases and long-term debt.

scholarly journals Financial Reporting Impact Of The Operating Lease Classification

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Kostolansky ◽  
Dora Altschuler ◽  
Brian B. Stanko
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Accounting Standards Board ◽  
Operating Leases ◽  
The Impact

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are preparing to make changes to accounting standards for leasing that will have a significant impact on the financial statements of a large number of companies. The proposed standard will eliminate the operating lease classification, and if passed, companies using this classification will be required to report additional assets and liabilities on the balance sheet. This study estimates the impact of this change in accounting standards on the financial statements and several key financial ratios for an extensive sample of companies and industries from the Compustat North America database. It is important that users of financial statements understand and are prepared for these changes prior to implementation, particularly for industries in which operating leases are heavily utilized.

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