Waypoints: Ideas and Insights to Navigate Enterprise Complexity

I recently wrote about the major financial reporting changes in the new lease standard and the potential impacts the changes could have on your business. When I wrote the blog, the Financial Accounting Standards Board was finalizing the standard, and it officially issued the new lease guidance on Feb. 25.

Hidden underneath the significant changes to revenue recognition and leases is the FASB’s update to accounting for share-based payments. And those changes – in an area often perceived to be as complicated as an NFL playbook – just made our jobs a little easier.

If your company uses leases to acquire assets without huge cash outlays, to enjoy lower interest rates than is possible with loans, or to reduce the risks of ownership, you may need to re-examine your lease and purchase decisions very soon. On November 11, the Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to proceed with the issuance of a final Accounting Standards Update on leases in early 2016.