Operating lease clarification?

B

BMiller12

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Throughout FRA they make note that the rental expense made with regards to an operating lease is EQUAL to the periodic lease payment.
Question: Does this mean that had the lease been a finance lease and not an operating lease (all else equal), that the rent expense under the optg lease would equal the lease payment aount under a finance lease (ie principal and interest) ?
 
No, and operating lease and a finace lease for the same principle and under the same terms would be differant.
 
So why does it say that the rent expense is equal to the lease payment under a finance lease? Is it just in principle (ie they are the respective payments for each type).
Im saying if the optg lease was instead a finance lease, they still wouldn’t have the same payment amount? Why not?
 
I believe the total cash outflow (payment) would be the same regardless of the classification.
For an operating lease, it is just a simple rental expense in the income statement and an operating cash outflow.
If that same lease were capitalised (finance lease) only the interest on the lease liability is an expense. However, the lessee still makes the same payment, so the remaining amount would be the repayment of the liability. The repayment of the lease is a financing cash outflow and the interest payment would be operating.
But the total outflow is the same, rental expense on an operating lease should be the total lease payment if that same lease was capitalised instead.
My knowledge of FRA is getting rusty ….. so I’d just like to know if I got this right:
Operating Lease - Income Statement: Rental Expense. Cash Flow Statement: Rental Expense (Operating)
Finance Lease - Income Statement: Interest Expense, Depreciation Expense. Cash Flow Statement: Repayment of Liability (Financing), Interest Payment (Operating)
 
Thecodont wrote:
No, and operating lease and a finace lease for the same principle and under the same terms would be differant.
Click to expand...
Is this because of the Interest rate assumed to discount the future lease payments?
 
Opperating leases include a residual at the end of the lease. The PV of the pmts must be less than 90% of the fair value of the equipment. As a result the payments do not amortize the full value of the principle. A finance lease is just like a loan and amortizes the full principle over the term of the lease.
Try this. use your TVM function in your calculator. Type in 1000 for PV, 10 for N, 8% for I and 0 for FV. Then solve for PMT
Now change FV to 200 and then solve for PMT
 
Check out pg 91 of the CFAI FRA book, example 11. They show the different effects on the income statements of a lease that theoretically be capital or operating. The total amound of expense of the life of the lease is the same.
Initially the capitalized lease will show a greater amount of expense, because the Interest expense from the lease amortization will be greater, but you use straight line for the asset. But as the Interest expense declines from amortization the amount expensed will be less than an operating lease.
So an operating lease will have a constant expense for the life of the lease, but a capitalized lease will show greater expense early in its life, but less towards the end. But the cashflow over the life should be the same over the life (not counting investment returns from the initial tax savings under a capitalized lease).
 
I will look at the example. From you post above.
“Initially the capitalized lease will show a greater amount of expense, because the Interest expense from the lease amortization will be greater, but you use straight line for the asset. But as the Interest expense declines from amortization the amount expensed will be less than an operating lease.”
This makes sense becasue the depreciation for a capital lease hits the income statment. It does not for an operating lease. The opperating lease is a fixed rental charge. The capital lease is interst expense and depreciatoin.
“But the cashflow over the life should be the same over the life (not counting investment returns from the initial tax savings under a capitalized lease).”
Again, I will read the example but this makes sense only if they set the example up to work out that way. The cash flows for operating lease will have lower CFO due to the rental expense being greater than the interest expense on a finance lease. If, I recall the principle payments on the finance lease hit CFF so CFF would be lower under a finance lease.
In any case, I would think the total CF would be less for a Operating lease since the payment by its nature is lower than on a financing lease. So the rental expense(opp lease) would be less than the principle + int (finance lease)
 
Thecodont wrote:
In any case, I would think the total CF would be less for a Operating lease since the payment by its nature is lower than on a financing lease. So the rental expense(opp lease) would be less than the principle + int (finance lease)
Click to expand...
I think we’re just conceptually looking at scenarios where the exact same lease could be accounted for either under a capital or operating lease, so the check we write to the leasing company is gonna be the same no matter how we account for it. So there could be a difference in tax treatment, but if we recognize more expense sooner (capital lease), we will have to recognize less later.
 
1logic wrote:
Thecodont wrote:
In any case, I would think the total CF would be less for a Operating lease since the payment by its nature is lower than on a financing lease. So the rental expense(opp lease) would be less than the principle + int (finance lease)
Click to expand...
I think we’re just conceptually looking at scenarios where the exact same lease could be accounted for either under a capital or operating lease, so the check we write to the leasing company is gonna be the same no matter how we account for it. So there could be a difference in tax treatment, but if we recognize more expense sooner (capital lease), we will have to recognize less later.
Click to expand...
I see what your saying. You think they are just assuming the lease is a capital lease with x cash flows. Then they say what if a lease with the same cash flows was deemed an operating lease. In that case, CF would be the same and expenses would be higher early for the capital lease. CF would also be allocated differanlty between the two leases.
 
I think we were in agreement before, just arguing two different scenarios. We need more threads like this. I feel like I’ve a way better grasp on Operating vs Capital leases now.
 
Ya, for me my topic would be financial statment adjustments in hyperinflation and calculating translation gains/losses under current rate and temporal. I am hoping that it is just becuase I have not done a lot of sample problems on those topics that I feel weak there.
 
Curriculum Volume 2, FRA, Example 11, page 91-96. Total expense under finance lease and operating lease is similar.
Operating Lease expense = Interest Expense + Principle
Though I’ve no clue of it but if the salvage value is 0 then identical total expense under both type of lease arrangements seem logical or else if there is salvage value then it would be adjusted to lower operating lease expense. Or may be the organization stepping into off balance sheet arrangements trade off better ratios with salvage value of the asset by not owning it! As far as the curriculum is concerned total expense is identical!
 
mohammad.belaal wrote:
Curriculum Volume 2, FRA, Example 11, page 91-96. Total expense under finance lease and operating lease is similar.
Operating Lease expense = Interest Expense + Principle
Though I’ve no clue of it but if the salvage value is 0 then identical total expense under both type of lease arrangements seem logical or else if there is salvage value then it would be adjusted to lower operating lease expense. Or may be the organization stepping into off balance sheet arrangements trade off better ratios with salvage value of the asset by not owning it! As far as the curriculum is concerned total expense is identical!
Click to expand...

Yes as 1logic and i were disussing they just took 1 lease and asked how it would be diff were it capital or operating. they are assuming a lease with a residual in either case and i was origionaly thinking they were discussing 1 with a residual and 1 as a full payout. That’s what I get for speaking without seeng the example!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top