Lease Accounting: An Investigation of the Success of Accounting Convergence Projects

Abstract

This paper explores the efforts of the United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to issue a converged accounting standard on leases. These boards represent the two major accounting standard setting entities in the world. With the support and encouragement of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S. SEC), the two boards have had the goal of working together to release a single set of converged accounting standards that would be accepted and used by listed (public) companies globally. The two boards began a joint project to converge lease accounting standards in the 1990's. They finally released their new, but not converged, standards in 2016. This paper delves into the process of convergence and looks into some of the potential issues that could have caused the eventual divergence of leasing standards between the FASB and IASB.