Sale and leaseback

For lessees and lessors

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Highlights

IFRS 16 Leases ended sale-and-leaseback transactions as an off-balance sheet financing proposition. However, it did not end the debates about sale-and-leaseback accounting.

Brian O'Donovan

Global IFRS and Corporate Reporting Leader

KPMG International

Assessing sale and leaseback

The deals themselves are often highly structured and can be material, especially for seller-lessees, and accounting for them can be complex. Assessing whether a transaction qualifies for sale-and-leaseback accounting under IFRS 16 is a key judgement. Calculating the profit or loss on the sale is also not always intuitive.

Our Sale and leaseback (PDF 1.9MB) publication addresses practical questions we have encountered in applying IFRS 16. 

Applying the latest amendments

Our publication also covers the amendments to IFRS 16 published in September 2022 addressing sale-and-leaseback transactions. It includes detailed worked examples showing how to account for sale-and-leaseback transactions that feature variable payments on initial recognition and subsequently.

Find out more

Whether you are assessing how to account for a new sale-and-leaseback transaction or seeking to understand the impact of the recent amendments to IFRS 16, we hope you will find this guide helpful.

Visit our Leases hot topic page for more insight on lease accounting under IFRS® Accounting Standards.

You can also follow 'KPMG IFRS' on LinkedIn for the latest content and topical discussion on IFRS Standards.

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Leases - Sale and leaseback

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