KPMG Financial Reporting View

KPMG's Financial Reporting View blog (https://frv.kpmg.us) covers several topics in detail, and the Reference Library (https://frv.kpmg.us/reference-library.html) is an excellent source of information on FASB, IFRS, and SEC updates, as well as access to KPMG-sourced materials. The leases topic can be found at https://frv.kpmg.us/all-topics/leases.html. One outstanding free resource is KPMG's 755-page lease accounting handbook, published in December 2017 (http://bit.ly/2Fxqylz). The handbook is written in clear, plain English, with easy to follow “mini-tables” on specific issues; it covers the definition of a lease, separating components of a contract, concepts and definitions for lessees and lessors, lessee and lessor accounting, and many other topics. The appendices include an index of Q&As, as well as a handy directory of examples that link back to the handbook discussion.

The annual “Accounting Change Survey: Revenue and Leasing” for 2017 (http://bit.ly/2rTUWVj) revealed that 60% of participating companies have met unexpected challenges, including identifying embedded leases and selecting and implementing a leasing system. Leasing implementation costs, including the need for new lease accounting software, have exceeded budgeted amounts for 40% of respondents. The 32-page survey results with action steps can be downloaded as a PDF format.

The webcast “New Leases Standard Implementation Part I: A Conversation with the FASB,” which originally aired in October 2017 (http://bit.ly/2rTViv7), covers application steps that companies should be taking to comply with the new standard, as well as KPMG perspectives and selected accounting implementation issues. It also includes a summary of KPMG's survey of financial statement preparers on how they expect to be impacted by the new standards and the level of progress they are making toward implementation. “New Leases Standard Implementation Part II: Key Accounting Issues and Implementation Considerations,” which aired in November 2017 (http://bit.ly/2nyCWdJ), addresses technical implementation issues in more detail, such as the new definition of a lease, allocation to lease and non-lease components, asset impairment, accounting and reporting impacts, and systems and processes impacts. The webcasts run for 90 minutes each and include downloadable slideshows.

PricewaterhouseCoopers CFO Direct

Similar to KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers's CFO Direct blog (https://www.pwc.com/us/en/cfodirect.html) presents information on a variety of accounting standards, financial reporting, and current regulatory events. The Lease Accounting webpage (https://pwc.to/2nrUd93) promotes PricewaterhouseCoopers's Lease Accounting Guide, the In Transition newsletter issue on “Practical Insights on Lease Transition,” and a podcast series on various topics. The Lease Accounting Guide (https://pwc.to/2nmxCe8), updated in March 2017 and downloadable as a 283-page PDF and iBook application for iPads, discusses arrangements that fall under the new lease guidelines, classification and accounting for lessors and lessees, unique leasing transactions such as sale leasebacks and leveraged leases, and financial statement presentation.

The In Depth newsletter on “The Leasing Standard: A Comprehensive Look at the New Model and Its Impact” (https://pwc.to/2EoWsRD) offers a shorter read (20 pages) covering key provisions, contract considerations, lessor and lessee accounting, lease terms and other related topics. There is a very useful table that describes significant differences from the old standards and provides PricewaterhouseCoopers's observations (p. 15). The Lease Accounting Industry Supplements webpage (https://pwc.to/2FxNP6Q) provides detailed guidance for 12 different industries, such as automotive, banking and capital markets, energy, insurance, and technology. Each industry has a short corresponding downloadable In Depth newsletter.

Other Free Resources

In addition to the more detailed materials discussed above, there are several other sources of quick and practical information on lease accounting.

PowerPlan (https://powerplan.com/lease-accounting/) is a commercial provider of lease accounting software. Website visitors who register for a free “Resource Guide to Lease Accounting Changes” gain access to a large number of materials, such as whitepapers, videos and webinars, articles, and infographics (http://bit.ly/2nvSpLd).

The whitepaper “8 Things to Know About the Lease Accounting Standards Changes” (http://bit.ly/2Gzcbyg) is a one-page summary that includes important reminders, such as that it is not too soon to start gathering lease data, that new testing criteria will be required in the future, and that lease agreements will have to be routed through a central accounting function. “The New Lease Accounting Standards: 9 Questions Financial Professionals Should Ask Now” (http://bit.ly/2GADFn1) is a two-page document covering how leases will be tracked differently, having sufficient contract review processes in place, and consideration of the potential complexities of reporting to different regulatory bodies. Common pitfalls discussed in “3 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Lease Compliance Plan” include not starting soon enough, not deliberating the impact on other departments, and not sufficiently evaluating software (http://bit.ly/2nw37Sa).

PowerPlan's on-demand webinar “It's an Iceberg: Preparing for the Full Impact of ASC 842 and IFRS 16 Lease Accounting Standards” is a 30-minute video that discusses making checklists for dealing with new leasing issues, the need for perpetual compliance when companies have multiple leased assets, and strategies for more efficiently managing compliance (http://wi.st/2rR2N60).