New lease accounting rule aims at clearer view of company health

Companies from airlines to retailers in more than 100 countries will have to swell their balance sheets with trillions of dollars under a new accounting rule for leases that should shine a clearer light on debt. Leases allow a company to use an asset in return for regular payments, and are mostly held off balance sheet, making it hard for investors to get a full picture of liabilities without delving into the depths of annual reports. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published a new rule on Wednesday requiring leases of more than a year to be placed on balance sheets from January 2019. "It's a major change and will affect around half of all companies, especially airlines, shipping and retail. They will have significantly different financial statements," IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst said.<br/>