FINANCIAL WATCH By John Bober Takeaways from the 2015 Lease and Finance Accountants Conference E counting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) projects on lease accounting may have received the most attention, but the conference’s agenda was not limited to this one subject. There were general sessions on leadership and the state of the industry, and sessions covering specialized topics, such as lease pricing, renew-able energy and hot topics in lease accounting. Copies of the session handouts and audio recordings of many of the sessions are available on ELFA’s Conference Resource Center at www.elfaonline.org/Events/?fa=crc . Sutton also provided the conference with an upbeat assess-ment of ELFA’s activities and overall health, including the associ-ation’s role in fostering the development of leaders in the industry and the role advocacy plays at the association. 2015 ELFA Chair-man Robert Rinaldi covered the state of the industry, which is healthy with high valuations and strong business volumes. LFA’S 2015 LEASE AND FINANCE ACCOUNTANTS CONFERENCE delivered a broad range of content. The Financial Ac-Leadership and Change Management With the much anticipated release of the new lease-account-ing guidance in late 2015 or early 2016, change and preparing for change was on the mind of many attendees. It was there-fore fitting that the keynote address by William G. Sutton, CAE, President and CEO of ELFA, was on “Dealing with Change or Changing the Deal.” Drawing on his many years of experience, Sutton’s valedictory address highlighted is-sues related to leadership, including adapting to new roles, new environments and new realities. His observations were punctuated by personal anecdotes, many of which illustrated the power of listening and preparing yourself to be uncom-fortable in a new role or environment. Lease-Accounting Project Overview The Lease-accounting project is now in its final stages and at the conference there was, consequently, a renewed sense of urgency to the topic. We were honored to again this year have the participation of Board members from the FASB and IASB. While the views they expressed were their own and not neces-sarily the views of the Boards, they provided us with an update on the project and stated a final standard would be issued in either late December 2015 or January 2016. Their presentation highlighted areas where the Boards are converged, including: ● ● Recognition and initial measurement by lessees of lease assets and obligations, ● ● Definition of a lease, ● ● Separation of lease and non-lease related components, ● ● Term of the lease and ● ● Most aspects of lessor accounting. They also referred to areas where the Boards did not reach a converged answer, including how lessees will allocate the cost of lease transactions. Other differences that were dis-cussed included: ● ● The IASB’s low value asset exception, ● ● When lease assets and liabilities are remeasured and ● ● How credit losses will be determined. Even with these differences the Boards’ primary objective of lease capitalization will be achieved. The Boards planned to vote on an effective date in mid-November, and we expect the effective date will not be before Jan. 1, 2018. New Standard Means New ELFA Education Offerings for Your Company ELFA will be your leading provider for information regarding the new lease-accounting standard, which is expected to be released in December 2015 or January 2016. Here are just a few of the initiatives the association is planning to educate members about the new standard and its effect on current business practices and your clients: ● ● A free web seminar for all ELFA members providing content on the new standard one-day conferences led by leasing and equipment finance experts ● ● Two ● ● Inclusion of sessions covering the new standard at all ELFA scheduled conferences throughout 2016 in-house training for member companies ● ● Customized ● ● Updated accounting information in the Fundamentals of Equipment Leasing and Finance online course and Principles of Leasing & Finance workshops resources on the association’s Equipment Finance Advantage end-user website ● ● Educational Lease-Accounting Project: Other Topics Complementing the perspective of the standards setters were other sessions covering the definition of a lease, the interaction of the revenue recognition standard and lease accounting and how common lease products will be accounted for at transition. Watch for more information as it becomes available on ELFA’s lease-accounting project webpage at www.elfaonline.org/Issues/Accounting/. 36 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE