Accurate and complete lease data is essential for several reasons. Firstly, it ensures compliance with lease accounting standards such as ASC 842, IFRS 16, and GASB 87. Secondly, lease data significantly impacts financial statements and key metrics, influencing a...
CONTENT BY
George Azih is CEO of FinQuery. A leading expert on lease accounting, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Georgia Society of CPAs. During his career, George served as a senior auditor at a CPA form and conducted accounting research and technical accounting for a Fortune 500 company. He founded LeaseQuery in 2011 to help companies of all sizes and across industries manage their leases efficiently under the new lease accounting standards.
Outsourcing Your Lease Accounting: 4 Best Practices to Consider
Businesses are busy. With limited time and resources, and not enough people on staff, it may be time to pass the task of maintaining compliance under the lease accounting standards on to an accountant or consulting firm. Working with an accountant or CPA has numerous...
GASB 87 Training: 10 Resources and Tips to Ease Your Transition
In 2017, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board released GASB 87, the new lease accounting standard for government entities. Government agencies must begin applying the new guidance for all reporting periods starting after June 15, 2021. Initially, the compliance...
Rent Deferment: 6 Tips for Negotiating a Rent Deferral with Your Landlord
1. See the landlord’s perspective 2. Know the full value of your lease 3. Use data to identify which leases to negotiate 4. Approach with a solution in mind 5. Collaborate across departments 6. Understand the accounting implications of rent deferments COVID-19 relief...
How the Lease Accounting Changes Have Impacted Balance Sheet Liabilities
When the FASB’s changes to lease accounting standards were released in 2016, it was hailed as one of the biggest changes to accounting in decades. After the implementation of the new rules began in earnest in 2019, it became clear that the magnitude of the impact on...
Lease Abandonment Accounting: Common Questions and a Full Example
Lease abandonment from the lessee’s perspective means precisely that the lessee is still paying for an asset they are no longer using. While the asset has in fact been abandoned by its initial renter, the landlord is still receiving payment for the property....
Lease Modification Accounting under ASC 842: Operating Lease to Operating Lease
In this blog, we will give an example of how to account for a lease modification under ASC 842 that does not expand or add additional assets to the original lease, but rather increases the lease term and changes the payment amounts. Because there isn’t an additional...
What Is the Early Impact of ASC 842 for Investors?
Now that public companies have completed or are in the final stages of their lease accounting transition, we can get an idea of what the ripple effect of the new lease accounting guidance will be beyond the accounting department. One of the main factors driving the...
Building Your Lease Accounting Practice: What You Need to Know
The new lease accounting standard creates new opportunities for accounting and advisory firms. Your clients will need guidance on interpreting the standard, developing their policies, and implementing lease accounting software. But before you dive into building your...
How to Prepare for an Audit of Your Financial Statements after Transitioning to IFRS 16 and ASC 842
You’ve collected all of your company’s leases. You’ve built your amortization schedules. You’ve created your journal entries and reports. And now, the moment of truth: your first post-transition audit. What should you expect? What will your auditors be looking for?...
Restatement of Financial Statements under IFRS 16 and ASC 842: What’s the Impact to Public Companies?
As the deadlines for FASB 842 and IFRS 16 get closer, many companies are realizing just how time-consuming and resource-heavy the transition process is (this 12-step guide will walk you through the lease accounting transition process). After all, you have to interpret...
Overpaid Rent: 5 Ways that Businesses Overpay Rent and Don’t Know It
1. Paying invoices with incorrect payment due amounts Present value calculator 2. Annual escalations 3. Not realizing a monthly payment is not required 4. Missing renewal notice deadlines 5. Common area maintenance overpayments 6. Related articlesIndustry statistics...
GASB Explained: Government Accounting Standards, New GASB Standards, and a Full List of Statements
1. GASB explained 2. What types of organizations report under GASB? 3. Government accounting standards 4. New GASB standards GASB 87: Lease accounting GASB 94: Accounting for public-private and public-public partnership arrangements GASB 96: Accounting for...
Excel Accounting Functions, Practices, Tips, and Tricks
1. Excel accounting formulas and functions Common functions for accountants 2. Excel accounting practices Our favorite Excel shortcuts Understand the Excel accounting number format 3. Free Excel accounting templates 4. Excel and accounting software 5. Bringing it...
Improving Capital Budgeting Decisions Using Finance and Accounting Tools
1. Capital budgeting in corporate finance 2. Capital budgeting methods 3. Finance and accounting tools ERP Fixed asset systems Lease accounting systems Lease administration systems Lease vs. buy calculator Capital budgeting in corporate finance Capital budgeting is...
Lease Accounting for Small Businesses: What You Need to Know
1. Complying with the new standards is a headache – especially in Excel 2. Investing in technology can prevent non-compliance Listen to your peers Evaluate the software’s features Analyze your budget The new lease accounting standards affect every business, no matter...
How To Wake Up from these 9 Lease Accounting Nightmares
Transitioning to ASC 842, IFRS 16, or GASB 87 is a monumental undertaking. No matter which standard you’re transitioning to, you’re probably already having nightmares about numbers and spreadsheets. We know it can be scary but it’s important not to let those lease...
The Accountant’s Journey toward Lease Accounting Adoption
The journey toward adopting the new lease accounting standards (ASC 842, IFRS 16, and GASB 87) isn’t easy - there are numerous pitfalls that can happen along the way. While the deadline for public companies has already passed, a recent decision by FASB will likely...
How to Choose the Right Accounting Software for Your Business
For accountants at mid-sized and small companies, buying software isn’t a regular occurrence. Companies don’t invest as heavily in accounting as they do in marketing and IT. And when they do, the focus is often short-sighted – software is purchased to meet an...
Efficiency in Accounting: Improve Productivity with These 6 Tips
Time – no matter what you do, it seems like there’s never enough of it. Fortunately, there are small things that you can do to make the most of your time and improve the efficiency of your accounting department. Here are six of our best pointers to help accountants...
Lease Accountant Hiring Questions: Here’s What to Ask in the Interview
Finding a gifted lease accountant is complicated. You need a project manager who can see the big picture to ensure long-term compliance. But you also need a technical accountant who’s a stickler for details. The key to finding the best talent is asking the right...
Why Lease Accounting in Excel Will Set You Up for Non-Compliance
Excel is an accountant’s best friend. The ubiquitous software has been around for over 30 years and most of us can’t imagine a world without it. It seems like it can do anything. Unfortunately, to comply with FASB Topic 842 and IFRS 16, as well as GASB 87, Excel...
Embracing Change: A Journey from LeaseQuery to FinQuery
I wanted to take a moment to share with you a significant milestone in our journey together. As you may have already heard, LeaseQuery has now evolved into FinQuery, marking a new chapter in our story. Read our story here Why now? This rebranding represents not just a...
Accounting for Service Contracts: Software Licenses & Leases
1. Accounting for leases embedded in service contracts 2. Are software licenses considered service contracts under ASC 842, IFRS 16, or GASB 87? 3. Accounting for software as a service contracts – what’s changed 4. Subscription-based information technology...
Accounting Tech Innovation Summit: Memorable Takeaways on How to Thrive in the Future of Accounting
In a year when the ability to succeed is dependent on keeping up with demand, preparing for the inevitable, and adapting to change, LeaseQuery put together a conference like no other in the accounting industry - The Accounting Tech Innovation Summit (#ATISummit). The...
Lease Accounting Compliance: Five Things To Remember
1. Lease accounting compliance is crucial for your organization Understand the lease accounting standards Utilize your resources Gather a full scope of your leases Look out for errors within your leases Conduct due diligence in selecting your software solution 2. What...
Evaluating Financial Application Software from an IT and Security Perspective
We’ve all heard the way that organizations buy and use software is changing. The rise of Software as a Service (SaaS) has empowered many business users to find, choose, and implement software without IT’s involvement. Beyond implementation, the IT and security teams...
Accounting Year-End Checklist: How to Prepare for Year-End Closing
Many people think that Q1 is the busiest time of the year for accountants. They assume that because it’s tax season, accountants are only stressed between January and April. While it's true that accountants are extremely busy during the first quarter, they're also...
5 Things I’ve Learned In My Year Working With Endeavor
Endeavor's Impact on LeaseQuery's Growth Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Endeavor Catalyst Investor meeting in San Francisco, CA. During my time there, I was able to attend a fireside chat led by Reid Hoffman (founder, LinkedIn), Patrick Collison...
Accounting Department Best Practices
Turnover, major projects, and organizational changes can make it difficult for teams to work together effectively, despite all of your best efforts. Every now and then, it’s worthwhile to do a gut check on how well your team is functioning. The more you operate as a...
4 Ways to Improve Financial Reporting Quality and Processes
To say that financial reporting regulations have changed in the past 20 years would be an understatement. We’ve seen significant recommendations made by The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the introduction of The International Financial Reporting Standard...
10 Topics to Consider When Creating an RFP for Lease Accounting Software
Excel used to be, or maybe still is, your “tried and true” go-to for handling lease accounting. However, for some businesses and organizations, accounting for all of their leases with Excel just isn't feasible. ASC 842 has different accounting models for finance vs...