Analysis of the effects of applying the new ASBE 21 Leases on the financial statements

Abstract

The Ministry of Finance of China has proposed new lease accounting model to the existing lease accounting standard that will require the capitalization of all operating leases as assets and liabilities. This study analyzed and investigated the key effects, caused by the application of new accounting standard—Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises 21 (ASBE 21), on financial statements and financial ratios of listed companies in Chinese Air Transport Industry. This study is a case study. Five listed Chinese Airlines corporations have been investigated. Significant relative differences were found within the Airlines industry in China. The results indicated that the total assets and total liabilities would increase due to the capitalization of operating leases, while the profitability of firms was expected to decrease. Furthermore, the coverage of firms would decline, yet the leverage of these firms would be improved. Considering that the prior studies have analyzed the firms in other country, where different accounting principle are applied, rather than China, this paper can provide useful information for the investors that are interested in Chinese Airlines corporations.