Lease accounting disclosure practice of Non Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) in Sri Lanka: A Lessor’s perspective

Abstract

Non Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) have become prominent alongside with banking and finance sector. The major business of most NBFIs in Sri Lanka is leasing. Lease accounting is a form-driven standard. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) introduced the revised accounting standard LKAS 17: Leases with effective from January 1, 2012. This research investigated the present state of accounting for lease in Sri Lanka as per the revised standard. An analytical review was done as per the standard and compliance with the stipulated disclosure requirements. All the Non Banking Financial Institutions which engage in leasing business and listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange were considered in this research. The methodology follows the content analysis which is consistent with Nasreen & Jahan (2007). The findings of this research indicate that the degree of correspondence between the standard as per LKAS: 17 and actual reporting by the leasing companies in Sri Lanka is considerably at a satisfactory level.