The new lease standard -Are the investors and the IASB of the same opinion regarding the allocation of expenses?

Abstract

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have jointly released an exposure draft regarding a new lease standard. According to the exposure draft, the new lease standard will result in significantly changes in lease accounting. The most important change is that the current operating lease contracts will be recognized in the statement of financial position, and that the expenses will not be recorded on a straight-­‐line basis. This paper aims to bring clarification about if investors and the IASB are of the same opinion regarding the allocation of expenses associated with an operating lease contract during the lease term. By empirical testing, the authors concluded that the investors do not share the IASB’s view regarding the allocation of expenses associated with an operating lease contract. Accordingly, if the new lease standard will be implemented, the authors find that the accounting information will be less useful from an earnings perspective.