The debate over the new accounting standards is heating up.

A slew of complaints have been popping up in the last quarter of 2019 including one senator who’s introducing a bill to require the FASB to study new petitions in the future.

Controversy or not, one thing remains clear: No matter your lease number and no matter your company size or type, compliance with the new lease accounting standards isn’t optional.

And it’s not going to be easy.

In fact, there’s been an eyebrow-raising number of financial restatements filed in the past year. And most of them are related to the complexity of the FASB, GASB and IASB standards.  

This raises a major red flag for private companies.

In fact, the stats and stories point to the fact that financial restatements caused by the new accounting standards could be a nightmare.

Spreadsheets are the #1 tool in an accounting department’s utility belt.

That’s why they’re so tempting to use for lease accounting compliance. That and they're cheap, flexible and everyone knows how to use them.

But they do present a few problems.

In fact, we’ve debated the pros and cons of spreadsheets when it comes to lease accounting compliance again and again. But we’ve recently had the opportunity to ask real-life experts their honest opinions about the matter:

• Mike Handley, CPA & Senior Manager at CFGI
• Patrick Dwyer, Technical Accounting Manager at Element Solutions, Inc.
• Joshua Reisz, Manager of Global Financial Reporting at Kennametal, Inc. 

These experts from publicly traded companies that have finished the FASB ASC 842 implementation weighed in about the role of spreadsheets in lease accounting compliance. 

What they had to say sheds valuable new light on the topic. 

There’s been a lot going on when it comes to the new lease accounting standards.

And it’s not all pretty.

While the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and many industry experts have offered preparers myriads of implementation guides, the reality is that most companies are struggling through a nightmarish process.

Words used to describe the ASC 842 implementation process include crushing, overkill, expensive and even a financial Armageddon. And post-implementation is no better, with the government questioning the statements of several well-known public companies.

If you keep a pulse on the industry or have completed implementation and post-implementation of the new accounting standard, you’ll understand that there are 4 main areas of concern.

It’s been over 6 months since the first instance of lease accounting reporting under the new FASB ASC 842 standard was due.

In Q1 2019, public companies handed in accounting reports that showed, for the first time ever, operational and financial leases on the balance sheet together. To no one’s surprise, the journey to get to this final reporting was far from smooth sailing.

Experts had long predicted the new lease accounting standard would be an uphill climb. After all, it’s a complete 180 from traditional accounting.

And with the next deadline less than 18 months away, private companies would be wise to do their homework and get started now.

After helping hundreds of companies implement lease accounting for FASB ASC 842, we’ve learned a thing or two about the challenges, roadblocks and questions you’ll face as you prepare to implement the new lease accounting standard.

Here are our top 5 lessons learned.

Private or public. Ready or not. A lease accounting compliance audit may be coming your way.

Right now, you might be one of the 5% of public companies in FASB ASC 842 post-transition mode. Or you might be in the majority of public companies who are somewhere in the grueling depths of compliance.

If you’re a private company, you’re probably feeling a false sense of security created by recent news of a delayed deadline.

Either way, there’s an elephant in the room: Will you be ready for an 842 lease accounting compliance audit?

The final month of Q3 2019 is here. 

And in just the past two months, there have been a lot of changes flying around when it comes to lease accounting compliance.

Because of all the decisions being made around the new lease accounting standard recently, it can be difficult to keep track of what everything means and how it affects you. 

We’ve got you covered.

As experts in lease accounting software, our team stays updated on the latest in lease accounting and on the details of any policy, standard and rule update. 

With that in mind, here are the top stories and informative articles that reveal important information about lease accounting compliance. Use them to inform your decisions for the rest of the year, and beyond.