Dialogue with standard setters

The new accounting standard IFRS 16 Leases is the result of a long process of review of the criteria for recognizing and evaluating the lease on the financial statements. The need to promote a revision of the accounting criteria on leasing has been felt by many players of the financial system. IASB, FASB, EFRAG, financial institutions, auditors and preparers have supported a debate on leasing over the years, which has underlined the im-portance of representing and assessing the operating leases in the financial statements with criteria similar to the criteria utilised for the financial leasing in order to improve the quality and comparability of the financial information. The new standard IFRS 16 Leases will be effective for annual reporting periods begin-ning on or after 1 January 2019 and it will bring significant changes in accounting require-ments for lease accounting, primarily for lessees, replacing the existing suite of standards and interpretations on leases as per follows: - IAS 17 Leases (IAS 17) - IFRIC 4 Determining whether an Arrangement contains a Lease (IFRIC 4) - SIC 15 Operating Leases - Incentives (SIC 15) - SIC 27 Evaluating the Substance of Transactions Involving the Legal Form of a Lease (SIC 27). The purpose of the following review is to analyse some of the main issues arising from the adoption of IFRS 16 Leases supported by the results of a recent effect analysis.

Keywords: Leases, right-of-use asset, lease term, discount rate, effect analysis

Stefano Bianchi, Dialogue with standard setters in "FINANCIAL REPORTING" 2/2019, pp 141-150, DOI: 10.3280/FR2019-002006