Case study
Multinational shipping and logistics company reduced workload
A multinational shipping and logistics company, with a network of more than 290 offices and 4,500 employees worldwide, was managing 500 leases using spreadsheets.
Situation
The Company realized this manual process was not a good long-term solution, especially for IFRS 16 compliance. They needed a solution that was easy and affordable with a quick implementation, as they were behind in the compliance process.
The Company operates in five different continents across the globe, so finding an implementation support provider who could communicate in multiple languages was a major requirement for the project. With only two team members managing the Company’s large lease portfolio, they did not have enough time to manage their day-to-day workload as well as an implementation project, so they needed someone to do the implementation for them.
“We have successfully implemented IFRS 16 in several industries and developed best practices methodologies for lease accounting that ensure smooth implementations.”
João Pedro Marques
Subject-matter expert for IFRS 16/ASC 842 at Qiado (an EZLease alliance partner)
Solution
The Company chose EZLease and Qiado (an EZLease alliance partner) to provide the solution and the implementation support needed to move away from spreadsheets. EZLease provided the simple, fast solution they needed to get compliant quickly and Qiado provided project experience with EZLease and staff members who were fluent in multiple languages.
Qiado stepped in and managed the entire implementation process for the Company – from requirements gathering to final implementation and training. Qiado began with a proof of concept that included a handful of leases. After validating the test leases, Qiado migrated the rest of the Company’s leases into EZLease, performed additional validation of the remaining leases, and provided training to the Company on how to use EZLease. The entire process took a little over a month, and the Company was able to meet their goal of having all their leases uploaded by the end of April 2022.
Fortunately, there were no major surprises during the implementation since the Company had a good handle on their lease information. Some minor updates to leases were needed, but otherwise, it was a smooth implementation.
Moving forward, the Company plans to be more hands-on with EZLease once they finalize the audit process. They are looking forward to continuing the use of the lease upload and reporting functionality to help with ongoing compliance.
“IFRS 16 posting logic is complex. Spreadsheets are not cost efficient and do not ensure data transparency, so it is essential to implement a lease accounting solution."
João Pedro Marques
Subject-matter expert for IFRS 16/ASC 842 at Qiado (an EZLease alliance partner)
Impact
Now that the Company has a solution in place, and they are no longer using spreadsheets to manage their lease portfolio, the team’s workload has decreased considerably. They are saving time and money; the organization of their lease data is more reliable; they have improved their overall processes and fostered better communication within the company.