Getting Started Assemble strategic team to set out requirements, goals, and timelines Establish contact with other executives who might be relevant to the transition process Share the likely impact of the implementation of IFRS 16 with relevant stakeholders Engage with auditors as early as possible Evaluate solutions Assess the technology solutions available, and choose best solution for the company (a lease accounting software solution is recommended by almost all audit and advisory firms)Ensure chosen solution contains latest available features such as OCR (optical character recognition) and AI-enhanced automation capabilitiesEnsure solution chosen is automatically updated with ongoing changes to IFRS 16Confirm that technology solution chosen will save your team time and effort, and not cost additional time and effort Establish timeline for training on new accounting software Final Steps Finalize the company’s relevant accounting policies Establish the necessary internal controls – such as approval for new leases, and internal communication regarding possible lease modifications Perform the primary technical accounting analysis, including calculating and documenting the Incremental Borrowing Rate (IBR) Create new ledger accounts Gather all lease contracts and contracts that may contain leases, per the standard’s definition Re-engage with relevant executives and departments heads regarding the potential for leases that may have been missed, such as embedded leases Go over ledger accounts for evidence of any leases that may have been missed (such as regular expense payments) Upload leases into relevant lease accounting platform Double-check all journal entries Ensure satisfaction with disclosure (both qualitative and quantitative) Schedule time for post-implementation review to ensure ongoing compliance