GASB issues lease accounting implementation guide

GASB issued an implementation guide Thursday that contains questions and answers about the board’s new lease accounting standard for state and local governments.

Implementation Guide No. 2019-3, Leases, provides guidance for preparers on how to apply the rules in GASB Statement No. 87, Leases, including:

• Scope and applicability.
• Determining the term of a lease.
• Determining if a lease qualifies for the short-term lease exception.
• Recognition, measurement, and disclosure by lessees.
• Recognition, measurement, and disclosure by lessors.
• Accounting for contracts with multiple components and contract combinations.
• Accounting for modifications and terminations of leases.
• Sale-leasebacks, lease-leasebacks, and intra-entity leases.

The questions and answers in the guide constitute Category B authoritative guidance under GAAP.

— Ken Tysiac (Kenneth.Tysiac@aicpa-cima.com) is the JofA’s editorial director.