Leases that are not leases: qualification and accounting

On the eve of the entry into force for the mandatory application of all enterprises and organizations of the Russian Federation of the Federal Accounting Standard 25/2018 “Lease Accounting”, approved. By order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 16, 2018 No. 208n, from January 1, 2022, many heads of economic structures, including healthcare organizations, and their accountants, who act as tenants in lease agreements, are concerned about avoiding the complicated accounting of leased objects which is prescribed by this standard. Accounting methodologists, consultants, experts, and others try to use literally every clause, subclause, paragraph, every word and every comma in order to justify that their lease relationship is not covered by this accounting standard.

Problem aspects of application by state enterprises of international standards of accounting and reporting in rental operations

The purpose of the article is to determine the peculiarities of public sector enterprises' use of international and national accounting and financial reporting standards governing the accounting of lease transactions, study the impact of their provisions on financial reporting indicators, substantiation of the most acceptable lease accounting models for public sector enterprises. The information base of the empirical study was the data of the official website of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine for 2013-2020. Methodical and methodological basis of accounting for lease transactions were the provisions of P (S) of Accounting 14, NP (S) of Accounting SS 126, IPSASB 13, IAS 17, IFRS 16. In the study used such techniques as comparison, l, time series, structural -dynamic and coefficient analysis. The essence of the concept of "lease" is clarified on the basis of a comparative analysis of its various definitions given in international, national standards of accounting and financial reporting for business entities, public sector entities, as well as in other regulations. The conceptual model of rent accounting for P (S) of Accounting 14, NP (S) of Accounting SS 126, IPSASB 13, IAS 17 and IFRS 16 is considered, the problematic aspects of its application in the accounting practice of domestic state enterprises are identified. Discussion issues concerning the application of the provisions of IAS 17 are highlighted, which include: the lack of a financial component in rental costs; lack of information in the financial statements about lease obligations not incurred by the company; Insufficient information in the financial statements about the existence of the asset to which the lessee has the right to use. The results of the study are to identify the key problems of the lease accounting model in accordance with IAS 17 for state-owned enterprises and make suggestions for their solution. Recommendations for assessing the impact of the lease accounting model in accordance with IFRS 16 on the financial statements of the lessee have been developed. The main directions of elimination of obstacles to the implementation of IFRS in the domestic accounting practice concerning the lease operations of state-owned enterprises are identified.

The Effect of the New Lease Accounting Rules under IFRS 16 on the Financial Reporting of Russian Companies

Renting is an important and widely used financial solution. Many companies rent a significant number of expensive objects, including cars, offices, power plants, retail stores and airplanes. In 2016 the IASB issued a new standard, IFRS 16 «Leases», replacing the old standard on leases, which entered into force on January 1, 2019. The standard did not make significant changes to the method of accounting for landlords, while tenants experienced a serious impact of the new standard. They now recognize almost all leases in the balance sheet by reflecting an asset that represents the right to use it for a certain period of time, and a financial liability. The article presents the results of the analysis of the financial reports prepared according to IFRS of Russian companies, revealing the impact of the introduction into force from 2019. IFRS 16 «Lease». According to the results of the study, it was revealed that the new rules for reporting leased property had a significant impact on the reporting indicators of tenants, reducing their liquidity. In addition, it was found that some companies, based on the specifics of the terms of lease agreements, reflected additional items in the balance sheet asset that disclosed the amounts of deposits and insurance payments.

Lifting the lid on the black box of corporate real estate decision-making; dealing with surplus property

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the variables that influence corporate real estate (CRE) decision-making and gauge their relative importance to each other, thereby understanding the consequent challenges/implications for CRE managers (CREM’s). Design/methodology/approach Interviews were undertaken with experienced CREM’s using the causal network elicitation technique to create decision networks for the variables they considered for the specifically defined scenario: dealing with surplus property from a change of business strategy. These networks illustrate the complexity of the mental representations required for the realignment of the CRE portfolio. The key variables are more extensive than alignment theory suggests, namely, financial stakeholders. Additional variables identified include risk, lease accounting, costs, financial analysis, business metrics and motivational drivers. The latter indicates the importance of self-esteem and peer recognition for CREM’s and financial benefits for the C-suite. Accordingly strategy alignment needs to incorporate CRE both in terms of strategy creation and implementation. Findings These networks illustrate the complexity of the mental representations required for the realignment of the CRE portfolio. The key variables are more extensive than alignment theory suggests, namely, financial stakeholders. Additional variables identified include risk, lease accounting, costs, financial analysis, business metrics and motivational drivers. The latter indicates the importance of self-esteem and peer recognition for CREM’s and financial benefits for the C-suite. Accordingly, strategy alignment needs to incorporate CRE both in terms of strategy creation and implementation. Originality/value This research appears to be the first that looks in detail at the mental representations used by decision-makers while making CRE decisions.