Considerations on the subject of lease accounting

The question of the correct method for recording lease transactions has already been the subject of debate both domestically and internationally for some time now (2009). The discussion on a set of rules for recording such operations has recently been fuelled by the inclusion in the FASB and IASB's agendas of a joint project regarding accounting rules for both the lessor and the lessee. To this very moment the preliminary output of this joint project has been the drafting of a discussion paper published on 19 March 2009. The present work offers a critical commentary on the main innovations introduced by the boards on the subject of lease accounting and illustrates an alternative accounting model which, starting with the identification of the essential economic elements of any lease contract, would be best suited to representing, in accounting terms, the reasoning and the actual purpose of a lease transaction.