In a speech at the London School of Economics, Hans Hoogervorst, chairman of the IASB said lobbying by the leasing industry meant the IASB and U.S. counterpart FASB are “facing an uphill battle” to bring the leverage represented by leases onto company balance sheets.

Hoogervorst said, “We will need all of the help we can get, to ensure that we do not get lobbied off course. We need national accounting standard-setters, regulators such as the SEC, investors and others to stand by their beliefs and help us to bring much-needed transparency to this important area.”

The IASB chief noted that the leasing industry itself is fighting its own battle. “Members of the U.S. Congress, heavily lobbied by the industry, are writing letters to our colleagues at the FASB. A recent report in the U.S. claimed that our joint efforts with the FASB to record leases on balance sheet will lead to 190,000 jobs being lost in the U.S. alone. I seem to remember similar claims being made when the IASB and the FASB required stock options to be expensed”, Hoogervorst said.

To read Hoogervorst’s speech at the London School of Economics click here.