Complex lease terms mean that it is often difficult to determine how they should be classified. This article examines IAS 17 and sheds some light on the matter.

Leases are classified currently under IAS 17, Leases, as finance or operating leases at inception, depending on whether substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership transfer to the lessee. Under a finance lease, the lessee has substantially all of the risks and reward of ownership. Situations that would normally lead to a lease being classified as a finance lease include the following:

IAS17界定了如何区分经营租赁和融资租赁，两者区别在于，承租方是否承担了所有的风险。

在融资租赁下，承租方承担了所有的风险。通常若出现以下情形，该租赁就可以被认定为融资租赁：

the lease transfers ownership of the asset to the lessee by the end of the lease term；the lease term is for the major part of the economic life of the asset, even if title is not transferred at the inception of the lease, the present value of the minimum lease payments amounts to at least substantially all of the fair value of the leased asset.

1.在租赁末期，租赁物的所有权将会转移给租赁方。

2.虽然租约启动时所有权尚未转移，其租期却占据了租赁资产的绝大部分经济寿命。租赁资产的最低付款额应与其公允价值相当。

the leased assets are of a specialized nature such that only the lessee can use them without major modifications being made. If the lessee is entitled to cancel the lease, the lessor's losses associated with the cancellation are borne by the lessee. Gains or losses from fluctuations in the fair value of the residual fall to the lessee. The lessee has the ability to continue to lease for a secondary period at a rent that is substantially lower than market rent. All other leases are operating leases.

出租资产具有专用的性质，以致只有承租人才可以不做重大改动而予以使用。如果承租人有权利取消租赁，损失由承租人承担。因剩余公允价值波动带来的损益也由承租人承担。承租人有权在另一期间继续以显著低于市场租金的价格租入租赁资产。除此之外皆为经营租赁。

The lease classification is made at the inception of the lease but a lessee and lessor may agree to change the provisions of the lease. However, changes in estimates for example, changes in the residual value of a leased property, or changes in circumstances such as default by the lessee, do not give rise to a new classification of a lease. If the changes would have resulted in a different lease classification, had they been applied originally, then the revised lease agreement is treated as a new lease over the remaining lease term. The original accounting entries are not retrospectively amended.

租赁条款性质（融资/经营租赁）在租约开始时就确定了，但是出租人和承租人可协商改变租赁条款。然而，估计的改变（如出租性房地产剩余价值的改变/承租人违约等）并不改变租约的性质。如果某些条款的修改会造成租赁的属性发生改变，那么修改过的租约在后续的租赁期间就被认定成一次新的租赁活动。原始会计分录不必追溯性地修改了。

Often lease indicators may not always point in the same direction causing lease classification to be difficult. Leases of specialized assets will usually be structured as finance leases. If an asset is specialized, then this implies that no other entity has a use for the asset. Consequently the lessor will only achieve its return on investment through the lease payments and it will structure the lease as a finance lease accordingly.

性质指标的模糊性导致租约分类困难。专门化资产的租赁通常被认定成融资租赁。特殊资产仅供承租企业独家使用。出租方只能通过收取租金来实现投资回报。

If a lessor can sell or lease non-specialized assets to other parties at the end of the lease and is willing to accept the financial risk on this then this could be an indicator of an operating lease.

出租方在租约末期出售/出租非专门化资产且愿意承担出租的财务风险，则此行为可作为经营租赁的指标。

Assets of a non-specialized may become specialized. For example, leased plant and equipment may be permanently installed in a building and its removal at the end of the lease may be impractical or too expensive for the lessor. Often specialized assets may have a significant remaining life at the end of the lease and sometimes this remaining life may be the major part of the economic life of the asset and therefore this indicator will point to it being an operating lease.

非专门化资产也可以转换成专门化资产。例如厂房和设备可能被永久地安装在某建筑中。在租约末期将其拆除是不切实际的。若专门化资产在租约末期仍有显著的剩余寿命，甚至剩余寿命占据其经济寿命的绝大部分，则可被视为经营租赁的指标。

However, it may be appropriate to disregard this indicator. Normally for there to be an operating lease with a significant part of the assets life remaining, there needs to be some realization of funds through sale or further rentals. However, in the case of a specialized asset this will not normally occur, because it is of value only to the lessee. In these cases, the asset will normally transfer to the lessee at the end of the lease for a nil or nominal payment and be treated as a finance lease.

然而，有时候可忽视以上指标。正常而言，当经营租赁的资产还有明显的寿命时，更多的资金需通过资产出售/继续出租来获取，但此情形对专门化的资产往往不适用。因为该资产仅对承租方有价值。当且仅当资产在租约末期，无偿/通过名义支付金额转移到承租方时，才被视作融资租赁。

Where an asset has been leased several times during its economic life, and the lease is the last lease to take the asset to the end of its life, then many of the indicators may point towards a finance lease. For example, the present value of the minimum lease payments may approximate to the fair value of the asset at the inception of the final lease and there is unlikely to be an option to purchase the asset at fair value or to extend the lease at a market rent because the asset has reached the end of its life.

当一个资产在经济寿命内被出租了很多次，且此最终租约结束时租赁资产使用寿命耗尽，许多迹象将表明，此租约属于融资租赁。比如，最小租赁付款额的现值在最终租约启动时约等于出租资产的现值，且承租人不太可能因资产的使用寿命终结以公允价值购买出租资产，抑或以市场价格延长租约。

However the asset will obviously be non-specialized and the final lease will not be for the major part of the economic life of the asset. The lease will be for the entire remaining useful life of the asset but IAS 17, Leases, focuses on economic life as an indicator of a finance lease. The lessor is recovering the investment in the asset through a number of leases and the substance of each of those leases will normally be an operating lease. Thus if the final lease were to be classified as a finance lease simply because of its position in the chain, this would normally be unacceptable.

尽管如此，资产仍是非专门化的，且最终租约并不占据资产经济寿命的绝大部分。租约的期限是就资产的全部剩余有效寿命而言的，但IAS 17聚焦于经济寿命，将其视作融资租赁的标志。出租人通过一系列租约从租赁资产中重获资金，通常其实质属于经营租赁。因此，如果仅因为最终租约是一系列租约中的最后一个而将其分类为融资租赁，通常是无法接受的。

Where an asset is leased and rents are nominal rents, the agreement is still a lease under IAS 17. The total value of the rents will fall short of the fair value of the asset, thus indicating an operating lease. Often, the rents are low because a premium will have been paid up-front which may be equivalent to substantially all of the fair value of the asset. In this case, the lease is probably a finance lease. Where rents are very low and no premium has been paid, the lease does not have a commercial basis and it would appear that the lessor is indifferent to the risks and rewards of ownership. Lease classification, in this case, is better judged by looking at the substance of the arrangement and the intentions of the lessor in granting a lease on such terms.

当一个资产以名义租金出租时，仍然满足IAS17的要求。租金达不到资产的公允价值，表明这是经营租赁，通常，租金低的原因是溢价已经提前支付，此价值大体上相当于资产的全部公允价值。此种情况就会被认定为融资租赁。当租金低廉且无需支付额外费用时，这个租赁就是没有商业价值的，出租人将不会在意资产的风险和回报，租赁分类最好根据合同的实质及出租人批准租约的意图进行判断。

The presence of an option to extend the lease at substantially less than a market rent implies that the lessor expects to achieve its return on investment solely through the lease payments and therefore is content to continue the lease for a secondary period at a nominal rental. This is an indicator of a finance lease. It is reasonable to assume that the lessee will extend the lease in these circumstances. However, an option to extend it at a market rental may indicate that the lessor has not achieved its return on investment through the lease rentals and therefore is relying on a subsequent lease or sale to do so. This isan indicator of an operating lease as there will be no compelling commercial reason why the lessee should extend the agreement.

（承租人）可选择以远低于市场租金的价格延长租期，意味着出租人仅期望通过租约支付额实现投资回报，因此才以名义租金开始另一租期，这是一种融资租赁。可合理地假设承租人将在拥有此选择权时延长租期。然而，也许出租人并未通过租金实现投资回报，因而依靠持续出租或出售资产而获得收益。这是一种经营租赁，因为并不错在具有商业意义的原因使承租人延长合同。

The absence of any option to extend the lease does not provide evidence either way as to an operating or a finance lease and other factors will need to be considered to determine the classification. In some cases, fluctuations in the fair value of the residual interest in the leased asset are passed back to the lessee. This indicates that the lessee is bearing the residual value risk, and the lessor’s return on investment is effectively fixed. These indicators provide evidence of a finance lease. If the lease also requires the lessee to make good to the lessor any shortfall between the sale proceeds and a fixed ‘residual’ amount, then again this is evidence of the lessor’s return being fixed. Where the lessor retains the proceeds of the eventual sale of the asset, the lessor is bearing the residual value risk and where the sale proceeds are significant, then this could be evidence of an operating lease.

有时，租赁资产剩余利益的公允价值波动风险转移到承租人身上。此时承租人承担了剩余价值风险，而出租人的投资收益被有效地锁定。这是一种融资租赁。若租约要求承租人对（租赁资产的）销售所得和固定的剩余价值之差进行补偿，这又体现处出租人可获得固定收益。当出租人收取最终资产销售额的同时，也承担了剩余价值风险。当销售额重大时，则表现出经营租赁的特点（风险未转移）。

Issues sometimes arise in lease contracts where an asset is held on a finance lease and then it is all or partially sub- let to another party on identical terms and conditions. This can occur where several entities intend to share leased accommodation and arrange for one entity to lease the whole asset and then sub-let the relevant parts to the others. The issue that arises here is whether the lead entity should recognize the finance leases on a gross basis in its accounts or whether it should net off the transactions in its accounts.

有时资产以融资租赁形式出租，随后又以同等条件，全部或部分地二次出租给了另一方。这种情况在几个企业想分担租约时常常发生。问题在于，领头的企业该如何处置此项活动——其认定为融资租赁，以毛利润计算，还是将其作为一项会计业务抵消？

In this case the entity should currently look at the de-recognition requirements of IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. The treatment will depend on the terms of the individual transaction. If the two transactions are separate to the extent that the lead entity is liable to pay its rentals under the head-lease regardless of whether it actually receives its sub-lease rentals, then the de-recognition requirements will not be met and it will need to account for the two leases on a gross basis.

此时企业需了解IAS 39的终止认定法则。具体处理方法取决于单个业务的条款。若两笔业务相互分开，领头的企业有义务在最初租约条款下支付租金，而不去理会该企业是否收到二次出租的租金时，则终止确认的要求无法满足。故此时该企业需要单独处理两笔业务，并以毛利润记录。

A contingent rent is such amount that is paid as part of lease payments but is not fixed or agreed in advance at the inception of lease rather the amount to be paid is dependent on some future event. However, it is not an interest payment as it is not connected with the passage of time therefore time value of money is not an issue. Contingent rent is commonly connected with an increase or decrease in future sales by the lessee or increase or decrease in the use of asset or inflation or deflation. Under IAS 17, contingent rents are excluded from minimum lease payments and are accounted as expense/income in the period in which they are incurred/earned.

或有租金指未提前约定好、向租约支付的部分金额。支付金额取决于未来的情况。或有租金不是利息，因为其不受资金时间价值的影响，而与承租人未来销售额/资产运用/通胀通缩的情况相联系。IAS 17表明，或有租金不包含在最低付款额中，而记入当期费用/收入。

If a lease contains a clean break clause, where the lessee is free to walk away from the lease agreement after a certain time without penalty, then the lease term for accounting purposes will normally be the period between the commencement of the lease and the earliest point at which the break option is exercisable by the lessee. If a lease contains an early termination clause that requires the lessee to make a termination payment to compensate the lessor such that the recovery of the lessor’s remaining investment in the lease was assured, then the termination clause would normally be disregarded in determining the lease term. Similarly the same principle applies, if the lease agreement states that the lease can only be terminated in remote circumstances, with the permission of the lessor or on entering a new lease agreement for the same or equivalent asset.

若租约包含终止条款，使得承租人有权在一定期限后不付出任何代价便可放弃租约，则租期一般是租约开始至最早可终止合约的这段时间。若租约含有一种需支付提前终止费用，以补贴出租人的提前终止条款，则不能以此条款决定租期。同样，下述情况也不能用来决定租期：合同表明租约难以终止，仅在出租人允许，或对原出租资产而言，有新的出租合同产生时方可。

The IASB is preparing a standard that may clarify and change some of the above aspects of lease accounting. The current models lead to a lack of comparability and undue complexity because of the distinction between finance and operating leases. As a result, many users of financial statements adjust the amounts presented in the statement of financial position to reflect the assets and liabilities arising from operating leases which makes the deliberations of companies regarding classification of leases somewhat a futile exercise.

IASB正着手出台一条可阐明、改善上述有关租约内容的会计准则。现行的准则因明显区分了融资/经营租赁而导致不可比性/复杂性。因此，许多财报使用者调整资产负债表中的金额，以反映经营租赁中引起的资产与负债。这种行为让公司对租约分类徒劳无功。

来源：泽稷网校ACCA

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