Lease Accounting Under ASC 842
Written by Nirmala Murugesan
Curated by Rubric Financial
Last updated
1 / 5
What Changed Under ASC 842
- ASC 842 requires most leases longer than twelve months to appear on the balance sheet.
- Under prior rules, operating leases like office space were often disclosed only in the footnotes.
- The standard applies to real estate, servers, vehicles, and equipment leases that convey a right to use an asset.
- The goal is to give financial statement users a clearer view of a company's lease obligations.
Related Resources
Multi-Entity and Consolidation Accounting
How parent and subsidiary structures work, why intercompany transactions must be eliminated, and how to produce consolidated financials.
Startup AccountingRefunds, Credits, and Clean Reconciliation
How to record refunds and credits correctly so revenue, cash, and customer balances always reconcile in the books.
Startup AccountingAccounts Payable & Vendor Management
Set up AP workflows, negotiate payment terms, and manage vendor relationships to optimize cash flow.
About the author
Nirmala MurugesanCA, CPAPartner, Accounting
CA and CPA with 20+ years across U.S. GAAP, IFRS, and cross-border entity accounting. Leads accounting and controllership at StartupCFO: clean close, audit-ready books, and multi-entity structures for venture-backed startups.
More articles by Nirmala →Related tools and reading
Startup bookkeeping
Monthly close, reconciliation, and GAAP financials, CPA-reviewed.
InsightKruze Alternatives for Startups in 2026: An Honest Comparison
Kruze Consulting is a respected, licensed CPA firm focused on startups, but its $500K funding minimum and $650+/mo starting price do not fit every company. Here are the real Kruze alternatives in 2026, with verified pricing and honest trade-offs.
GlossaryASC 606
GAAP revenue recognition standard for contracts with customers.
InsightPilot Alternatives for Startups in 2026: An Honest Buyer's Guide
Looking at Pilot alternatives? Here is a fair comparison of Kruze, Zeni, Fondo, Puzzle, Graphite, Digits, a CPA firm, an in-house hire, and StartupCFO, with pricing as of November 2026 and the situations where each one wins.
GlossaryASC 718
GAAP rules for expensing stock-based compensation.
InsightZeni Alternatives for Startups in 2026: An Honest Buyer's Guide
Weighing Zeni alternatives? Here is a fair look at Pilot, Kruze, Fondo, Puzzle, Digits, Bench, a CPA firm, an in-house hire, and StartupCFO, with pricing as of November 2026 and where each one beats Zeni.
Want your books handled properly?
A bookkeeper and CPA who work as one team, with your monthly close done and your ledger ready for diligence.
No spam, ever. If the download doesn't start, email us.
Or talk it through: