-- Deadline for new lease accounting standards looms
LeaseAccelerator, the pioneer in the Enterprise Lease Accounting software market, has published a 90-Day Countdown Checklist for Australia companies preparing for the new lease accounting standards, AASB 16.
One of the biggest accounting changes ever, the new AASB 16 standards will see over $100 billion in operating leases transfer onto Australian corporate balance sheets this year. The initial deadline arrives in just three months on 1 July 2019.
Australian listed companies will have to finalise accounting policies, lease administration and transition approaches, covering activities including:
- Validation, cleansing and enrichment of leasing data
- Testing, migration and deployment of lease accounting systems
- Staffing, training and enablement of new business processes
- Reviews, updates and approvals of financial controls
Most importantly, companies will have to operationalise their record-to-report processes for lease accounting, to ensure that they can satisfy the new presentation and disclosure requirements.
Recent studies from the top auditing firms suggest that the majority of companies are behind schedule on implementing the standard. Many are still implementing new systems, updating business processes and hiring additional staff. It is likely that companies will have to use manual workarounds, spreadsheet tracking and external consultants to fill the gaps until the appropriate people, processes and systems are put in place.
"Given the complexity of the new lease accounting standards, it is not surprising that many companies feel they are behind. The biggest issue that we are hearing from our global customer base is the challenge of managing a dynamic lease portfolio across its lifecycle to ensure sustained compliance. This capability is at the core LeaseAccelerator's solution and is the biggest reason why so many companies are choosing us," said Michelle Laybutt, LeaseAccelerator VP Solution Consulting ANZ and South East Asia.
The 90-Day Countdown Checklist can be
