| With the development of China’s economic market,leasing has gradually become an important financing method.However,the old leasing standard still has some room for maneuvering,which makes it possible for companies to use the leasing method to commit financial fraud.To make up for the shortcomings of the old leasing standard,China’s Ministry of Finance,following the pace of the reform of IFR 16 combined with the current situation of China’s leasing market,promulgated Enterprise Accounting Standard No.21-Leases(Revised)in December 2018 and required Chinese enterprises to fully implement it from 2021.The promulgation of this new leasing standard is bound to have an impact on industries that rely heavily on leasing transactions.The retail industry is one of the key pillars of China’s national economy and mainly adopts an asset-light mode of operation,with the vast majority of operating sites and warehouses being acquired through leasing.The leasing business in this industry is characterized by its large scale and high value,so changes in leasing standards will inevitably affect it.Company Y,a benchmark enterprise in the retail industry,had more than1,000 stores by the end of 2021,99% of which were acquired through leasing.According to the fact sheet in its annual report for that year,the loss caused by the change in the new leasing standard was as much as 556 million yuan.Thus,it is clear that the financial impact of the change in the leasing standard on Retail Company Y is significant.Based on this,the study summarizes the current status of domestic and international research on leasing standards.First,by summarizing the development history of leasing standards and comparing the content of changes in the new leasing standards,it is found that on the one hand,the new standards make up for the inaccurate classification standards of the old standards,improve the processing process of the leasing business,curb the off-balance sheet financing phenomenon under the past operating leases and improve the disclosure level of leasing business;however,on the other hand,the new standard also has an impact on the financial situation of enterprises.Again,by analyzing the financial impact of the new standard on the retail industry and selecting Y retail enterprises as the research object,we analyzed the financial impact of the implementation of the new leasing standard on them from three perspectives of financial statements,financial indicators,and financial activities,respectively.The study found that after the implementation of the new standard,the total amount of assets and liabilities increased significantly,the financial statements changed structurally,and depreciation and interest expenses further increased,which diluted the annual profit,starting from the new accounts of "right-to-use assets" and "lease liabilities".Depreciation and interest expenses continued to increase,diluting net income.In turn,Company Y’s financial indicators began to deteriorate,and its financing difficulties escalated,and it needed to rethink its investment method and business model to reduce its reliance on leasing.Finally,for Company Y to adapt to the changes in leasing standards as soon as possible,suggestions are made in three aspects,namely,optimizing financial statements,improving financial indicators,and strengthening financial activities. |
