The ELFA released a new white paper that addresses impending changes to the lease accounting standard.

The white paper, “Changes in Lease Accounting: The Benefits of Equipment Lease Financing Remain,” is designed to help ELFA members understand what to expect from the new accounting rules.

The FASB is expected to release the new lease accounting standard in December 2015 or January 2016, with an implementation year of 2019 for public companies. Private companies will be allowed another year before transitioning is required.

“With a new lease accounting standard imminent, ELFA members are engaging their customers and other stakeholders regarding the new rules,” said ELFA president and CEO William G. Sutton. “We are pleased to offer this white paper to assist in that education process. We especially thank the members of our association’s Captive and Vendor Finance Business Council Steering Committee who helped develop the white paper. The good news is that there are many reasons to lease, and the primary reasons to lease will remain intact under the new rules, from maintaining cash flow, to preserving capital, to obtaining flexible financial solutions, to avoiding obsolescence. Under the new standard, ELFA members will continue to offer practical and profitable solutions to help their customers acquire productive assets to grow their businesses.”

Although the new standard will change how leases are accounted for on corporate balance sheets, ELFA’s new white paper emphasizes that most of the lease accounting changes are expected to be relatively neutral in their impact. Further, the paper reveals that the core benefits of leasing transactions will not go away under the new standard.

Included in the white paper is a summary of the anticipated final guidelines, talking points for sales people and end-user customers on key provisions of the rules and a chart outlining the benefits of leasing before and after implementation of the new standard.