Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2015, 63(2), 507-514 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun201563020507

Is Capitalization of Operating Lease Way to Increase of Comparability of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with IFRS and US GAAP?

Hana Bohu¹ová
Department of Accounting and Taxes, Faculty of Business and Economy, Mendel University in Brno, Zemìdìlská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic

The paper is concerned with an evaluation of possibilities of companies using operating lease and prepared financial statements under IFRS or US GAAP comparison. The data of non-financial companies listed on the Prague Stock Exchange and reporting information on operating lease in accordance with IAS 17 are used. The study presents the impact of operating lease capitalization on companies' financial statements and financial analysis ratios. The results show a negative impact of operating lease capitalization on financial analysis ratios. The study was motivated by a common effort of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to develop the common standard for Lease reporting. In 2013, a joint exposure dra of standard (ED2013/6) Leases was published. Under the new standard, it is required to capitalize all lease agreements over one year. The distinction between operating leases and finance leases should not exist anymore. The study was carried out to demonstrate the potential impact resulting from the proposed adoption of the new accounting standard concerning mandatory capitalization of all lease contracts.

Keywords: operating lease, finance lease, capitalization of operating lease, IAS 17, ROA, D/E
Grants and funding:

The results introduced in this paper are a part of research project supported by Czech Science Foundation via grant No. GA13-21683S "The quantification of the impact of the introduction of Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base on the budget revenues of the Czech Republic".

Prepublished online: May 10, 2015; Published: April 1, 2015  Show citation

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Bohu¹ová, H. (2015). Is Capitalization of Operating Lease Way to Increase of Comparability of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with IFRS and US GAAP? Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 63(2), 507-514. doi: 10.11118/actaun201563020507
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