Operating vs Finance Leases: Impact on Financial Ratios

Financial Accounting Standards and Reporting · 3:39

Listen on 93

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Two companies sign the same lease deal
One calls it operating, one says it's real
The classification makes a world of change
Watch how the balance sheets rearrange

Operating keeps it off the books so clean
No asset, no liability seen
But finance leases tell a different tale
Assets and debts upon the scale

[Chorus]
Finance on, operating off
Balance sheet treatment shows who's soft
Debt-to-equity climbing high
When finance leases multiply
ROA goes down, the ratios shift
Operating gives your metrics lift
Remember this accounting gift
Classification makes the drift

[Verse 2]
Operating lease expense flows straight
Through income in one steady rate
But finance splits the payment two
Interest expense and principal due

Depreciation hits the books as well
Making early profits fell
Front-loaded costs in finance style
Operating smooths it all the while

[Chorus]
Finance on, operating off
Balance sheet treatment shows who's soft
Debt-to-equity climbing high
When finance leases multiply
ROA goes down, the ratios shift
Operating gives your metrics lift
Remember this accounting gift
Classification makes the drift

[Bridge]
Current ratio feels the squeeze
When finance brings liabilities
Asset turnover takes a hit
More assets in the benefit
Cash flow from ops looks better too
When finance payments split in two
Only interest hits that line
Principal stays behind

[Verse 3]
Analysts must look beneath
The surface where the truth lies neat
Add back operating leases
To compare what each releases

Debt-adjusted ratios tell
The story that the books won't spell
Constructive capitalization
Levels the comparison

[Chorus]
Finance on, operating off
Balance sheet treatment shows who's soft
Debt-to-equity climbing high
When finance leases multiply
ROA goes down, the ratios shift
Operating gives your metrics lift
Remember this accounting gift
Classification makes the drift

[Outro]
Same cash flows, different view
Classification changes you
Ratios dance to lease design
Read between the bottom line

← Lease Accounting: Right-of-Use Assets and Liabilities | Fraud Risk & CAS 240 Responsibilities →