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ESG Diligence: The Key To Sustainable M&A Transactions
AAB / Blog / A new lease of life for lease accounting under IFRS 16
BLOG16th Oct 2019
Whilst I was flying down to London this morning I wondered if the aeroplane was on the balance sheet yet? Prior to the introduction of IFRS 16 airlines by leasing their planes meant that the plane as well as its related lease liability was an off-balance sheet item.
This concern has now been addressed with the introduction of new international financial reporting standard (IFRS16) lease accounting. Companies will now be required to report all leases on their balance sheets as assets and liabilities. The impact of this standard will be seen on several finance areas including operating profits, interest coverage ratios, asset turnover ratios, cash flows, and net income.
IFRS 16 removes the distinction between finance leases and operating leases. It introduces a single lessee accounting model, referred to as ‘right-of-use’ model (with minimal exceptions related to short term and low-value leases).
What does IFRS 16 say?
IFRS 16 is effective for companies whose reporting periods start on or after 01 January 2019.
According to this standard, lease liability is equal to the present value of remaining lease payments (using a discount factor). Also, right-of-use asset is the sum of lease liability and initial direct costs incurred to put the asset in use.
Why is it difficult to adopt IFRS 16?
Three key challenges that the organizations will need to overcome are discussed below.
Devils of Discount Factor
Unlike bank loans and other debt instruments, lease agreements do not have specific interest rate stated therein. Hence, it’s challenging for the lessees to make a prudent judgement on the discount rate (which can either be Interest Rate Implicit or Incremental Borrowing Rate) due to:
Other challenges
Apart from these, intercompany leases, sale and lease back transactions, lease term assessments, and subsequent re-measurements are key challenges, which will need to be addressed.
How will IFRS 16 impact financial metrics?
Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)
If you use any of these metrics to report on debt covenants these will need to be revised and remeasured to account for the change in base on the balance sheet.
What’s the best way to be IFRS-compliant?
Despite the above-mentioned challenges, I personally believe IFRS 16 will bring more faithful representation of companies’ financial positions, increased transparency, and better investor confidence.
Since this standard has impacts beyond finance and accounting, in my opinion, organizations should take this opportunity and align with procurement, treasury, regulatory, legal, and compliance departments as well while strategizing the implementation.
By Lauren McIlroy, our Virtual Finance Function Partner.
To find out more about Lauren and the Business Advisory Services Team, click here.