LeaseAccelerator released the results of the 2023 Global Lease Accounting Survey conducted in collaboration with Ernst & Young. The key finding of the survey is the post-compliance push for return on investment (ROI).

Now that most organizations have achieved compliance with lease accounting standards, they are looking for ways to improve their ROI — by implementing strategic initiatives, such as platform consolidation across real estate lease administration and lease accounting applications; leveraging analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) for improved decision-making; and utilizing leased asset data and analytics to achieve net-zero emissions goals.

The 2023 survey shows that many organizations are still held back in their goals for lease lifecycle automation by heavy reliance on spreadsheets and data silos across different stakeholders. Respondents reported ongoing challenges, including the accuracy of lease accounting, automation of the monthly close, timely lease capture and incompleteness of lease data. However, these challenges also present an opportunity for organizations to focus on ways to improve processes. Additional key findings from the survey include the following:

• 36% of respondents cited accuracy as their top lease accounting audit challenge, up from fourth in the 2022 survey.
• 43% of respondents said that they return less than 70% of their leased assets on time.
• Although 28% of respondents have more than 250 leases, most aren’t centralizing decision-making and automating processes.
• 29% of respondents said their lease accounting is not integrated with ERP systems, creating potential missed opportunities for business optimization.

“We continue to see clients increasing their focus on taking out costs and getting more value from their lease accounting and administration software by automating manual processes. This report provides critical insights into best practices for improving ROI,” Michael Keeler, CEO, LeaseAccelerator, said.

Survey findings were presented during the October 19, 2023 webinar, ROI After Lease Accounting Compliance. To watch the replay, click here. To download the report, click here.