The lease-accounting rule changes proposed this past summer bythe International Accounting Standards Board and the US FinancialAccounting Standards Board have been called "long overdue" as wellas "drastic" and a potential "burden." If and when they take effectin 2012 or later, these rule changes-which cover equipment as wellas commercial space-may impact not only corporate balance sheets,but also the ways in which lessees think about leasing. Experts inboth accounting and real estate services are advising their clientsto be ready when the new FASB/IASB standards become reality.

"Companies that use leasing should start thinking today abouthow this proposal could affect their financial statements, andshould consider the need to make changes to lease structuring,performance metrics, debt covenants and systems," said Joel Osnoss,global IFRS leader, clients & markets, at Deloitte ToucheTohmatsu Ltd., in a statement. "Education of key stakeholders willalso be necessary."

Howard Roth, global and Americas real estate leader at Ernst& Young, said in a commentary for GlobeSt.com that the proposedrule changes "may lead to an overhaul of lease accounting."Deloitte notes that if the exposure draft released August 17 by theFASB and IASB reflects the final rule, "Operating leases may soonbe a thing of the past."