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Worried About GASB 87 Compliance? Global Consulting Firm Creates a Solution

Transitioning to the new lease accounting standards will be complicated for the public sector — even with the original 18-month extension. Make compliance possible with the right resources.

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New lease accounting standards will dramatically affect the way governmental entities record leases on their financial statements. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement Number 87 (GASB 87) goes into effect soon with a compliance deadline of July 1, 2021.

Complying with these complex changes puts pressure on public-sector organizations and the people who run them. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic and economic uncertainty have made it difficult for organizations to make long-term plans. With these complications in mind, government entities should already be taking steps to meet GASB 87 standards. The summer deadline will arrive before we know it.

To help public-sector organizations become and remain GASB 87-compliant, the consulting firm Crowe has the solution. The Crowe Lease Accounting Optimizer for GASB 87 eases the transition to the new GASB 87 standards, while also targeting inefficiencies and reducing risk.

“Don’t just kick the can down the road. The new rules are here, and all public-sector organizations need to be compliant. With the Crowe Lease Accounting Optimizer, organizations can get their entire lease catalog into ongoing conformity, thus reducing risk and bringing operational efficiencies along the way.” - Tom Reznicek, Principal, Crowe LLP

The Crowe Lease Accounting Optimizer reduces workloads through automation. Automated lease accounting processes provide a huge benefit to any organization relying on manual entry to keep track of their finances. Tracking thousands of different leases using spreadsheets requires a lot of human resources and bandwidth — both of which can be in short supply at public-sector organizations. To ensure compliance and be prepared for audits, automating as many manual operations as possible is critical and incredibly time-saving.

“From an audit perspective, the big concern is the risk that comes with not properly recording these leases. It’s a complicated process that requires a lot of calculations, which means that the risks of error and formula-tampering are very real.” - Tom Reznicek, Principal, Crowe LLP

Software features like minimal data entry, automated processes and automated record keeping are key to reducing errors and being audit-ready. This solution also includes one-click lessee/lessor leases, visibility and forecasting, comprehensive lease management and flexible integration.

The Crowe Lease Accounting Optimizer is fast, affordable and easy to implement — essential qualities to facilitate making the summer compliance deadline. Four key benefits of this product will be of especial interest to the public sector:

  • Automate Lease Accounting Processes
    • Reduce dependence on manual data entry and the potential for errors by automating the classification of leases as finance or operating, equipment or real estate; lease receivables and payments, including lease payment schedules; journal entries; depreciation of assets and creation of liability amortization tables; and asset management.
  • Obtain Insights With Out-of-the-Box Reporting and Analytics
    • Use the reporting and analytics to measure the effects of the new accounting standards on KPIs with an onboard calculator; access and monitor the status of all leases across an entire organization; make accurate projections with real-time updates on lease payment and leased asset information, present value, and cash flow; and generate reports.
  • Take Advantage of a Comprehensive Set of Tools
    • Ease the transition to new standards by quickly importing existing leases and leased assets; automatically classifying leases based on GASB 87 and ASC 842 criteria; add, edit, monitor and securely access lease and leased asset information throughout the organization; utilize easy currency conversion and multiple language support; and import and export to Microsoft Excel™ software.
  • Trust Your Data Is Secure
    • Because this software is built in the Oracle NetSuite cloud™, public-sector organizations can rely on an enterprise-grade infrastructure, comprehensive data privacy, data management, and security and application availability.

In addition to the Lease Accounting Optimizer, Crowe also offers GASB technical consulting and implementation services to help organizations meet their short-term and long-term goals. Because Crowe has served the needs of public-sector organizations for more than 50 years, their team brings diverse, in-depth experience that enables insight and a clear understanding of the challenges and solutions of public-sector agencies. Furthermore, they have a proven implementation methodology along with the GASB technical expertise that’s critical to help organizations identify their lease population, determine their abstract key terms and build a future process for upcoming leases.

For example, when implementing the Crowe Lease Accounting Optimizer into an organization’s processes, Crowe consultants will do the following:

  • Engage with the organization and set expectations and a framework for a successful implementation
  • Drive the organization through configuration requirements and set up the Crowe Lease Accounting Optimizer
  • Enable the organization by providing end-user training and support the organization through user acceptance testing
  • Convert final data migration and perform final cutover activities

“Do not underestimate the resources needed to comply with GASB 87. Crowe has the qualified resources and the solution available to help automate work so that your people can focus on what’s important.” - Tom Reznicek, Principal, Crowe LLP

Visit the Crowe Lease Accounting website or contact Tom Reznicek directly for more information on how, with some help from Crowe, you can ease your transition to GASB 87 and make compliance possible. Tom is a partner at Crowe who has spent the last 14 years helping organizations implement ERP and Lease Accounting solutions in the public sector.
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