Leaders in Accounting Consulting and Lease Management Software to Offer Comprehensive Solutions Together
November 1, 2016 – BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and consulting organizations, and CoStar Real Estate Manager, a division of CoStar Group, Inc. and a leading lease management software provider, today announced a strategic alliance under which BDO and CoStar will team to provide companies with an end-to-end solution to meet the looming deadlines for compliance with new lease accounting standards, ASC 842, recently finalized by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
The new standards require companies to recognize practically all obligations for real estate, equipment and other leased assets on their balance sheets. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission data indicates that the Fortune 500 companies currently have more than $700 billion in off-balance sheet lease obligations that will be affected by the new standards, while the IASB projects new balance sheet additions worldwide may be in excess of $3 trillion.
This monumental shift in accounting policy may have far-reaching impacts in many areas such as debt covenants and financial ratios. It will affect businesses in numerous industries, especially those in the consumer products, restaurant, retail, financial services, utilities and oil & gas. By proactively preparing for the new standards, businesses can greatly mitigate financial reporting issues and negative consequences for errors and restatements.
“We are extremely pleased to work with CoStar in helping clients meet the challenge of complying with the new lease accounting rules,” said Mike Stevenson, National Assurance Partner at BDO USA. “In order to make this transition less burdensome and meet compliance deadlines, companies need to take action now. By working with CoStar’s Lease Manager software and BDO’s technical expertise, companies can greatly accelerate the process of analyzing and classifying leases for the new requirements and bring them into compliance well before the deadline.”
CoStar’s proven lease manager software provides the complete functionality needed to manage and report on real estate, equipment and other leased assets. It is delivered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) format and offers out-of-the-box functionality that includes balance sheet impact, classification tests, amortization schedules, journal entry processing and GL system integration. To ensure compliance with Sarbanes Oxley’s requirement to demonstrate effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting, CoStar’s platform completes an SSAE 18 audit annually.
“As a premier national accounting firm, BDO is an ideal partner for our lease accounting software,” said Andy Thomas, President of the CoStar Real Estate Manager division. “BDO professionals are trusted advisers, and the experience and insight they provide to clients greatly enhances the impact of our Lease Manager solution.”
Read the BDO full press release and visit www.bdo.com and www.costarmanager.com for more information.
