Definition of a lease

IFRS 16 represents the first major overhaul of lease accounting in over 30 years. The new Standard will affect most companies that report under IFRS and are involved in leasing, and will have a substantial impact on the financial statements of lessees of property and high-value equipment. 

Since accounting for leases under IFRS 16 results in substantially all leases being recognised on a lessee’s balance sheet, the evaluation of whether a contract is (or contains) a lease becomes even more important than it is under IAS 17 and IFRIC 4. In practice, the main impact will be on contracts that are not in the legal form of a lease but involve the use of a specific asset and therefore might contain a lease – such as outsourcing, contract manufacturing, transportation and power supply agreements. Currently, this evaluation is based on IFRIC 4; however, IFRS 16 replaces IFRIC 4 with new guidance that differs in some important respects.