Financing Under The Municipal Leasing Option

By Chloe Gib


There are various sources of finance. A management accountant is the right professional to provide advice to companies relating to the best form of finance. A lease is an agreement between the lesser and lessee where the asset owned by the lesser is used by the lessee for a specified duration of time in exchange of pre-agreed rentals. Municipal leasing has everything to do with municipal leases and equipment lease purchase.

This method of financing has various advantages. It comes to the aid of individuals who are not willing and ready to spend liquid cash on the acquisition of noncurrent assets. They can use the assets without spending the cost of purchasing. The interest paid on the rentals is normally tax exempt. This means that the entity that incurs the interest would not pay taxes on them.

There are various techniques that are used to determine the best project from the pool. Payback period is the period during which the initial investment into the project is recovered. The initial capital is recovered by positive cash inflows incidental to the project. Discounted payback brings into view the concept of future value of money. It is common knowledge that the value of a United States dollar twenty years ago was greater than it is now.

An asset is now considered to be a resource under the control of an entity. This means that the leased asset would be presented under noncurrent assets of the lessee. The finance lease obligations will be presented under liabilities.

The accounting treatment for leases differs depending on the type of lease. For a finance lease, the initial recognition requires that the leased asset be presented and property, plant and equipment. The corresponding credit entry is under liabilities under the title finance lease obligations. The subsequent measurement would be the depreciation of the asset and interest charging and reduction of the obligations as a result of the payment.

Equity finance refers to the funds derived from shareholders. The shareholders are the owners of the entity. They contribute money to the companies for a stake in return.

These funds could be used to invest in the projects. The costs involved are those of issuing shares to the public through the initial public offer. These costs are usually relatively high. Debt finance is relatively cheaper. Interest paid represents the costs incurred. Municipal leasing falls under this category. The good thing for companies is that the interest paid is tax exempt.




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