This is the conclusion of , which covered 2,800 businesses globally. It found that 54% of global businesses "are not aware of, and are therefore unprepared for, one the most significant global accounting changes in the past decade: the virtual elimination of off-balance sheet leases."
It found that U.S. companies were most aware -- registering 69% recognition -- but it considers that percentage small compared to the potential size of the issue. Globally, of those companies that were aware, 33% acknowledged that cost and complexity would increase as a result, but only 12% said they would change the way they structure leases in the future. And just 15% thought it would increase transparency, one of the intended goals of the proposed revisions.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board both are for review next year. And Grant Thornton, for one, said in its report that it considers engagement in the process by companies critical. Investors, too, need to consider how much transparent the new models will make lease accounting activities, and whether financial statements covering them will be easier to use.
The Securities and Exchange Commission estimated in a 2005 report that the undiscounted value of future lease payments among U.S. listed companies stood at $1.25 trillion, according to the accounting firm.
In Grant Thornton's view, too many transactions now are structured for the purpose of arriving at a desired accounting treatment, although it acknowledges that some legitimate tax and legal advantages accrue to companies from lease financing. Most important, the accounting firms says, is that financial statements today don't offer a complete and transparent financial picture. Changing that is one of the goals of the proposed revisions in the U.S. and globally.
"There is no question that a global review of lease accounting is long overdue," John Hepp, a partner in Grant Thornton LLP's Accounting Principles Group, said in a statement about the survey. "The lack of transparency with regard to leases has festered for years, but a major change to lease accounting is a once-in-a-generation event and the IASB and FASB need to be patient to get things right."
He added that the survey findings should provoke boards to become involved, since businesses apparently question whether there would be any improvement in transparency from the proposed changes. "Some of the proposals we've seen could create a different set of incentives to structure leases to achieve desired accounting outcomes," Hepp said. "Change for the sake of change is not the goal, and a rush to a new standard could actually make things worse."
Grant Thornton wants "a new standard that is practical for business -- avoiding undue complexity and excessive estimation uncertainty," he added. "Investors need transparent, understandable information on leasing transactions, including the obligations and expenses of the lessee, and the receivables and revenue of the lessor." The accounting firm wants boards to study whether leasing proposals are aligned with the interrelated element of revenue recognition, and "whether they have adequately distinguished leases from other types of contracts (so-called executory contracts) which, under current standards, generally are not recognized in the financial statements at all."