Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2010, 56(7):341-348 | DOI: 10.17221/43/2010-AGRICECON

New approaches to the operative leasing accounting

Patrik SVOBODA

Department of Accounting and Taxes, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic

: In 2009, the IASB and FASB started a public discussion and commenced work on a project referring to the recording of leasing in financial statements of companies using the International Accounting Standards for reporting. Contrary to most national regulations, the current solution of the IAS and US GAAP require a completely different recording of operative and financial leasing in financial statements, and consider the transfer of risks and leasing rewards as the main criteria for their division. Such an approach, however, has been repeatedly criticized by many users of financial statements, because transactions that are very similar or even identical economically are caught up in a completely different manner depending on whether the recording entity evaluates the leasing subjectively. It may even lead to the manipulation of recording according to the requirements and intents of the recording entity. This contribution analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of some discussed procedures, in particular of those which could replace the current standards in the future (recording based on the use of the concept of right to use), and various effects on the report on the financial situation and profit or loss development when using the current methods or the newly suggested methods during the existence of leasing. The impact is demonstrated on a specific example of business premises leased by an entity conducting business in agriculture. We also focus on different approaches of the IASB and FASB to some related issues, for example concerning the update of the applied incremental interest rates, the conditioned parts of rent and the guarantees for the residual value.

Keywords: International Accounting Standards, leasing, contingent rent, minimum leasing payments, incremental borrowing rate, guaranteed residual value, concept of right to use, IASB, FASB

Published: July 31, 2010  Show citation