Lease

ACCA F7考試：Lease

Lease Classification

There are two types of lease classification─finance leases and operating leases.

Finance lease：

is a lease which transfers substantially all of the risks and rewards incident to the ownership of an asset;

title may or may not eventually be transferred.

Operating lease:

is a lease other than a finance lease.

Risks and Rewards of Ownership

Risks may be represented by the possibility of:

losses from idle capacity or technological obsolescence; or

variations in return due to changing economic conditions.

Rewards may be represented by the expectation of:

profitable operation over the asset's economic life; or

gain from appreciation in value or realisation of residual value.

Indicators

IAS 17 lists the following as examples of situations where a lease would normally be classified as a finance lease:

the lease transfers ownership of the asset to the lessee by the end of the lease term;

the lessee has the option to purchase the asset at a bargain price and it seems likely, at the inception of the lease, that this option will be exercised;

the lease term is for the major part of the useful life of the asset even if title is not transferred;

at the inception of the lease, the present value of the minimum lease payments is greater than, or equal to, substantially all of the fair value of the leased asset;

the leased assets are of a specialised nature such that only the lessee can use them without major modifications being made;

if the lessee can cancel the lease any losses associated with the cancellation are borne by the lessee;

gains or losses from the fluctuation in the fair value of the residual fall to the lessee (e.g. in the form of a rent rebate equalling most of the sales proceeds at the end of the lease); and

the lessee has the ability to continue the lease for a secondary period at a rent which is substantially lower than market rent.