Guidance on Leases and other Agreements V4.0

Transcription

1 Guidance on Leases and other Agreements V4.0 August 2014

2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction Purpose of this Policy/Procedure Scope Definitions / Glossary Ownership and Responsibilities Role of the senior finance managers Role of the budget holders and other staff Standards and Practice Dissemination and Implementation Monitoring compliance and effectiveness Updating and Review Equality and Diversity... 7 Appendix 1: Template 1 - Determination arrangements for Lease... 8 Appendix 2: Template 2 - Potential finance lease questionnaire... 9 Appendix 3: Template 3 - Present Value Calculation (Payments Yearly in advance) Appendix 4: Template 4 - Present Value Calculation (Payments Quarterly in advance) Appendix 5: Template 5 - Present Value Calculation (Payments Monthly in advance) Appendix 6: Governance Information Appendix 7: Initial Equality Impact Assessment Form of 16

3 1. Introduction 1.1. Leases and other agreements that involve the use of assets are commonplace within the NHS. Prior to committing the Trust to such an arrangement, the arrangement must be reviewed in detail as it could contain provisions that affect the accounting treatment for the arrangement and its subsequent funding source. The arrangement may be required to be accounted for through either revenue budgets or capital funding depending on whether it is deemed an operating lease or a finance lease respectively This version supersedes any previous versions of this document. 2. Purpose of this Policy/Procedure 2.1. This document provides detailed guidance on assessing a lease or similar type of arrangement, in order to determine the correct accounting treatment for the arrangement. 3. Scope 3.1. This guidance applies to all members of staff who are considering entering the Trust into a leasing arrangement, or an arrangement that involves the Trust using an asset (such as an item of equipment or a building) The final assessment of the accounting treatment of a such an arrangement lease must ALWAYS be performed by a senior finance manager (such as the Financial Accountant or Financial Controller); however Budget Holders and other members of staff may use this guidance to determine the likely treatment of a lease type arrangement for option appraisal purposes. 4. Definitions / Glossary Lease - a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee (user) to pay the lessor (owner) for use of an asset; Managed service a service provided and managed by a third party organisation on behalf of the Trust, often involving the provision of assets within the arrangement; Finance lease a lease arrangement whereby substantially all of the risks and benefits of ownership transfer to the lessee; such an arrangement would be accounted for as the Trust s asset and expended through capital funding; Operating lease any lease which is not a finance lease; such an arrangement is accounted for through revenue budgets as a normal operating expense; Useful economic life the expected life of an asset; Present value the value on a given date of a payment or series of payments made in the future; Minimum lease payments the minimum payments due under the terms of the lease. 3 of 16

4 5. Ownership and Responsibilities This document has been produced by the Finance department, who will ultimately use the guidance to provide an accurate assessment of the correct accounting treatment of a lease or similar arrangement Role of the Senior Finance Managers Senior Finance Managers are responsible for undertaking the final assessment of leases and similar agreements prior to committing the Trust to such an arrangement Role of the Budget Holders and other staff Budget Holders may use this guidance to undertake a preliminary assessment as to the likely accounting treatment of a lease or similar arrangement. Budget Holders and other staff will also ensure that all relevant details pertaining to the arrangement are provided to a senior finance manager. 6. Standards and Practice 6.1. Before you consider entering the Trust into any lease or agreement that makes use of an asset, please read the following guidance and refer to the Scheme of Delegation for delegated limits and levels of authority. You should also contact the Financial Controller, Financial Accountant or other senior finance manager as soon as possible, providing as much information as you can on the proposed arrangement Attached to this guidance are templates to be used when assessing whether an arrangement contains a lease and whether a lease is an operating or finance lease. The assessment criteria in the templates are detailed further below If you need assistance in interpreting this guidance please speak to the Financial Controller, Financial Accountant or your management accountant Does an arrangement contain a lease? If you are considering entering an agreement but are not sure whether it contains a lease or not, you need to answer the following: (N.B. Managed Equipment Service arrangements have been used as illustrative examples as these are the agreements most likely to contain leases which the Trust enters into). 1. Does the fulfilment of the arrangement depend upon a specific asset(s)? The asset need not be explicitly identified by the contractual provisions of the arrangement. Rather it may be implicitly specified because it is not feasible or practical for the supplier to fulfil the arrangement by providing the use of an alternative asset. For example a managed service equipment arrangement involving a piece of medical equipment is a contractual arrangement that is dependent upon the use of a piece of capital equipment (the asset). It does not matter whether the arrangement explicitly or implicitly specifies the use of equipment, if fulfilment of that arrangement cannot take place without using the equipment. 2. Does the arrangement convey a right to control the use of the asset(s)? 4 of 16

5 This is the case if ANY of the following conditions are met: The Trust has the ability or right to operate the asset or direct others to do so (whilst obtaining more than an insignificant amount of the output of the asset). The Trust has the ability or right to control physical access to the asset (whilst obtaining more than an insignificant amount of the output of the asset). There is only a remote possibility that parties other than the purchaser will take more than an insignificant amount of the output of the asset and the price is neither fixed per unit nor equal to the current market price. For example with a managed equipment service contract, a piece of equipment is physically installed in the hospital and the Trust has the right to operate the equipment exclusively, without other Trusts or organisations having any rights to use it. 3. Are the payments under the arrangement made for the time that the item is made available? This is as opposed to being for the actual use of the asset. For example a standard managed equipment service arrangement usually requires payments for the duration of the arrangement, rather than each time the equipment implicitly or explicitly specified in the arrangement is used. If you answer yes to ALL of the above then the agreement DOES contain a lease and you need to assess the asset element of the agreement against the criteria for deciding whether a lease qualifies as a finance lease or as an operating lease. 4. At the inception of the lease does the present value of the minimum lease payments amount to substantially all of the fair value of the leased asset? The Finance Department will calculate the present value for you. You will need to provide the capital cost of the asset for the Finance Department to complete this calculation; this is not always set out in the lease agreement and you may need to obtain it from the lessor. 5 of 16

6 5. Are the leased assets of a specialised nature so that only the lessee can use them without major modifications being made? Often specialist hospital equipment can be used by trained staff at any other hospital. For the purposes of this assessment, such assets would not be deemed specialised. If you have answered yes to ANY of the above 5 questions, the lease would normally be classed as a finance lease and therefore will be required to be funded through Capital funding. If you have answered no to ALL of the above you also need to consider whether any of the following 3 additional criteria are met (individually or in combination) as this may also lead to a lease arrangement being classified as a finance lease. 6. If the Trust can cancel the lease will it bear the lessor s losses associated with the cancellation? Having to pay the lease rentals to the end of the term post cancellation does not constitute the bearing of lessor s losses. Additional costs, for example the cost of returning the equipment being borne by the Trust, or the payment of a penalty fee by the Trust should the agreement be terminated early, may amount to bearing the lessor s losses. 7. Do gains or losses from the fluctuation in the fair value of the residual value fall to the Trust (e.g. by means of a rebate of lease payments)? Usually the only time that residual value will be revised during the lease term is in the event of the total loss of the asset. This does not constitute this criteria being met. 8. Does the Trust have the ability to continue the lease the asset for a secondary period at a rent substantially lower than the market rent? You need to consider the impact that any cap on secondary rentals will have. Often any effect on the level of rentals can justifiably be said to reflect the age of the asset and the rentals that could be achieved by a third party. Please be aware that we need to consider any arrangements in a similar manner if the Trust is deemed to be a lessor. Again contact the Finance Department as soon as possible for advice. 7. Dissemination and Implementation 7.1. This document will be published on the Trust s document library, replacing the previous version, as a source of information for senior finance managers and other members of staff who may wish to assess leasing and similar agreements. 6 of 16

7 7.2. No specific training for staff is required; the guidance has been refreshed but contains no significant changes. 8. Monitoring compliance and effectiveness 8.1. This document is a guidance note only and therefore will not be formally monitored. Compliance with accounting regulations is monitored through both internal and external audit reviews during the year. 9. Updating and Review 9.1. This document will be reviewed and updated every two years, or sooner where there are any significant changes to relevant accounting standards. 10. Equality and Diversity 10.1.This document complies with the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust service Equality and Diversity statement which can be found in the 'Equality, Diversity & Human Rights Policy' or the Equality and Diversity website The Initial Equality Impact Assessment Screening Form is at Appendix 7. 7 of 16

8 Appendix 1: Template 1 - Determination arrangements for Lease Contract: Paragraph ref IFRIC 4 6(a) Determination criteria for whether or not an arrangement contains a lease The fulfilment of the arrangement is dependent on the use of a specific asset(s). Yes / No Comments IFRIC 4 6(b) The arrangement conveys a right to use the asset. IFRIC 4 6(c) Payments under the arrangement are made for the time that the item is made available for use rather than the actual use of the asset. If any or all of the above have been answered no, the agreement does not contain a lease and no further work needs to be undertaken. If ALL the above have been answered YES, the agreement DOES contain a lease and you now need to assess the asset element of the agreement against the IAS 17 criteria. Note: this template is available from the Finance Department as an Excel spread sheet 8 of 16

9 Appendix 2: Template 2 - Potential finance lease questionnaire Ref: Asset: Start date: Lease term: Capital cost: Rentals: Secondary rentals: Residual Value: Paragraph ref IAS 17 IAS 17 10(a) IAS 17 10(b) IAS 17 10(c) IAS 17 10(d) IAS 17 10(e) IAS 17 11(a) IAS 17 11(b) IAS 17 11(c) Examples of situations which would normally lead to a lease being classified as a finance lease 1. The ownership of the asset transfers to the lessee by the end of the lease term. 2. The lessee has the option to purchase the asset at a price that is expected to be sufficiently lower than the fair value and at the inception of the lease it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. 3. The lease term is for the major part of the economic life of the asset. 4. At the inception of the lease the present value of the minimum lease payments amounts to substantially all of the fair value of the leased asset. 5. The leased assets are of a specialised nature so that only the lessee can use them without major modifications being made. 6. If the lessee can cancel the lease it will bear the lessor s losses associated with the cancellation. 7. Gains or losses from the fluctuation in the fair value of the residual value fall to the lessee (e.g. by means of a rebate of lease payments). 8. The lessee has the ability to continue the lease for a secondary period at a rent substantially lower than the market rent. Yes / No Based on the above assessment and comments this lease has been assessed for accounting purposes as: Note: this template is available from the Finance Department as an Excel spread sheet 9 of 16

10 Appendix 3: Template 3 - Present Value Calculation (Payments Yearly in advance) Asset: Fair value (FV) inc. of VAT Discount rate 6.00% First year discount variable 1.06 Year Amounts (inc. of VAT) Discount variable Discounted amounts Minimum lease payments Total discounted amount - Present value (PV) of Minimum lease payments - Percentage of fair value - If under 90% and no other criteria have been met this is an operating lease If over 90% this is a finance lease and finance will: Capitalise lower of FV and PV of minimum lease payments Depreciate over shorter of lease term and useful economic life Note: this template is available from the Finance Department as an Excel spread sheet 10 of 16

11 Appendix 4: Template 4 - Present Value Calculation (Payments Quarterly in advance) Asset: Fair value (FV) inc. of VAT Discount rate 6%/4= 1.50% First year discount variable 1.02 Quarter Amounts (inc. of VAT) Discount variable Discounted amounts Minimum lease payments Total discounted amount - Present value (PV) minimum lease payments - Percentage of fair value - If under 90% and no other criteria have been met this is an operating lease If over 90% this is a finance lease and finance will: Capitalise lower of FV and PV of minimum lease payments Depreciate over shorter of lease term and useful economic life Note: this template is available from the Finance Department as an Excel spread sheet 11 of 16

12 Appendix 5: Template 5 - Present Value Calculation (Payments Monthly in advance) Asset: Fair value (inc. of VAT) Discount rate 6%/12= 0.50% First year discount variable 1.01 Month Amounts (inc. of VAT) Discount variable Discounted amounts Minimum lease payments Total discounted amount - Present value of Minimum lease payments - Percentage of fair value - If under 90% and no other criteria have been met this is an operating lease If over 90% this is a finance lease and finance will: Capitalise lower of FV and PV of minimum lease payments Depreciate over shorter of lease term and useful economic life Note: this template is available from the Finance Department as an Excel spread sheet 12 of 16

13 Appendix 6: Governance Information Document Title Guidance on Leases and other Agreements Date Issued/Approved: 20 August 2014 Date Valid From: 20August 2014 Date Valid To: 31 August 2016 Directorate / Department responsible (author/owner): Contact details: Brief summary of contents Finance Department Guy Trevenna, Financial Accountant & Deputy Financial Controller Guy.trevenna@rcht.cornwall.nhs.uk Provides guidance to managers on leases or other agreements that make use of assets Suggested Keywords: Target Audience Executive Director responsible for Policy: Date revised: August 2014 This document replaces (exact title of previous version): Approval route (names of committees)/consultation: Divisional Manager confirming approval processes Lease, leasing, managed equipment service, MES, finance lease, operating lease RCHT PCH CFT KCCG Karl Simkins, Director of Finance Guidance on Leases and Other Agreements Originally approved at Finance Committee (January 2009); subsequent refreshes approved by Director of Finance Karl Simkins, Director of Finance Name and Post Title of additional signatories Signature of Executive Director giving approval Publication Location (refer to Policy on Policies Approvals and Ratification): Document Library Folder/Sub Folder Links to key external standards Related Documents: Training Need Identified? Not Required {Original Copy Signed} Internet & Intranet Intranet Only Finance / Financial Services Key governance document Standing Orders and Standing No 13 of 16

14 Version Control Table Date January 2009 Version Summary of Changes No V1 Approved January 2009 as Final version. Review 1 year after adoption and then every 2 years June 2010 V2 No major amendments refresh 1 Year after adoption Changes Made by (Name and Job Title) Sarah Gould Financial Controller Guy Trevenna Financial Accountant July 2012 V3 Updated to new policy format with general refresh. Guy Trevenna Acting Deputy Financial Controller August 2014 V4 Updated to latest policy format and general refresh Guy Trevenna Financial Accountant & Deputy Financial Controller All or part of this document can be released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 This document is to be retained for 10 years from the date of expiry. This document is only valid on the day of printing Controlled Document This document has been created following the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Policy on Document Production. It should not be altered in any way without the express permission of the author or their Line Manager. 14 of 16

15 Appendix 7: Initial Equality Impact Assessment Form Name of the strategy / policy /proposal / service function to be assessed (hereafter referred to as policy) (Provide brief description): Guidance on leases and other agreements Directorate and service area: Is this a new or existing Policy? Finance Existing Name of individual completing Telephone: assessment: Garry Cooper 1. Policy Aim* To clarify the arrangements for managers prior to entering into any Who is the strategy / lease or agreement that makes use of an asset policy / proposal / service function aimed at? 2. Policy Objectives* To improve the arrangements in accounting for leases 3. Policy intended Outcomes* 4. *How will you measure the outcome? 5. Who is intended to benefit from the policy? 6a) Is consultation required with the workforce, equality groups, local interest groups etc. around this policy? b) If yes, have these *groups been consulted? C). Please list any groups who have been consulted about this procedure. Improved control on lease agreements Internal Audit periodic reviews will assist in this area The Trust, through improved management of Leases No N/a N/a 7. The Impact Please complete the following table. Are there concerns that the policy could have differential impact on: Equality Strands: Yes No Rationale for Assessment / Existing Evidence Age X The guidance is neutral in its impact on equalities. Sex (male, female, transgender / gender reassignment) X 15 of 16

16 Race / Ethnic communities /groups Disability - Learning disability, physical disability, sensory impairment and mental health problems Religion / other beliefs Marriage and civil partnership Pregnancy and maternity X X X X X Sexual Orientation, X Bisexual, Gay, heterosexual, Lesbian You will need to continue to a full Equality Impact Assessment if the following have been highlighted: You have ticked Yes in any column above and No consultation or evidence of there being consultation- this excludes any policies which have been identified as not requiring consultation. or Major service redesign or development 8. Please indicate if a full equality analysis is recommended. Yes No X 9. If you are not recommending a Full Impact assessment please explain why. N/a Signature of policy developer / lead manager / director Karl Simkins Date of completion and submission 18/08/2014 Names and signatures of members carrying out the Screening Assessment 1. Guy Trevenna 2. Garry Cooper Deputy Financial Controller Senior Finance Officer Keep one copy and send a copy to the Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion Lead, c/o Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Human Resources Department, Knowledge Spa, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 3HD A summary of the results will be published on the Trust s web site. Signed Date 16 of 16