The Use of Leasing as a Commercial and Strategic Choice in a Post-COVID World

With historically low interest rates on the rise, this could be the compelling event to drive you to review your utilisation of leasing and look at the opportunities it can provide.

Identifying optimal solutions to finance and manage assets has never been more challenging for finance teams than it is today. In a post-COVID world, borrowing levels are constrained and operational flexibility is critical. In addition, the growing expectations that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be proactively addressed by businesses has increased the need to ensure that assets are appropriately managed throughout their full lifecycle, including responsible disposal at the end of their useful corporate life.

The introduction of IFRS 16 shone a light on leasing and the required compliance reporting also provided organisations with more data, that could be used in their financial and strategic decision-making process. It demonstrated that leasing could be a cost-effective and practical tool across asset classifications, such as IT (with the move to working from home).

In a recently hosted webinar, we spoke to PwC who provided insights and guidance on how to look for ways to identify areas that could utilise leasing. PwC also discussed the decision-making processes they go through for their IT leasing, which mirrors many large organisations and their requirements for flexible working environments and the need to have the best technology for their team.

Below are the main discussion points that we covered:

• An overview of what a leasing structure can deliver throughout an asset lifecycle within the post-COVID world.
• Understanding the asset lifecycle and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), including the components of a TCO analysis.
• What are some common areas that organisations use leasing for and some they don’t, but should look at?
• How has IFRS 16 changed the way traditional leasing structures are viewed.
• PwC's overview of the key areas where lease portfolio decisions are having a positive impact for their clients.