Richard Sikkel, senior vice president commerce of Athlon Car Lease International, led the discussion at the international IFRS seminar and commented: 'Although the operating car lease IFRS rules develop in a less cumbersome way as proposed in the August 2010 Exposure draft, the complexity resulting out of the new accounting rules is still substantial.

'As a client, you may therefore expect your supplier to deliver tools and support. Moreover, you don’t want to enter into a discussion with your own accountants on whether the leasing companies’ calculation methods are fully correct. We therefore have agreed not only to provide these reports, but also to have them certified with respect to meeting international standards by the big four accounting firms in Europe.'

In addition, a poll conducted amongst attendees found that 95% indicated that the administrative burden resulting out of the changes seems to be their major concern.

However, the survey revealed that 55% of Athlon Car Lease’s customers do not intend to change their current lease policies if the leasing companies commit to carrying the administrative burden. It was also discovered that the other benefits of operational leasing such as the full services provided for fleets still remain valid and attractive to customers, outweighing the negatively perceived consequence of having to put operational leases on balance.

A large majority of clients also indicated that the new changes in regulations will not automatically lead to making mobility budgets available to their employees on a large scale.