With five months remaining until the new lease accounting standard takes effect, a survey of practical readiness, focusing on listed companies, found that while preparations are progressing, the dependence of determination criteria on individual employees remains a prominent issue. Contract information is increasingly being digitised, but tool use remains at around 30%, making the development of operating frameworks an urgent priority.
The survey conducted jointly by First Accounting and the Japan CFO Association covered listed companies, their groups and large enterprises, with the aim of assessing practical readiness and challenges relating to the mandatory adoption of the new lease accounting standard. A total of 121 companies were surveyed. The survey categorised medium-term readiness as “in progress or completed” and showed that progress had been made year on year.
Regarding readiness for the new lease accounting standard, 70.2% of respondents said they were “in progress or completed.” Including consultations with audit firms, the figure rose to 76.9%, indicating that companies are beginning to move into the execution phase. Meanwhile, 66.0% had digitised their contracts, while 41.6% still had employees conduct lease determinations through visual review, showing that person-dependence remains a significant issue.
Although contract information management is becoming increasingly digitised, only 29.2% of companies centrally manage contract information across the organisation, while 40.6% manage it at the departmental level. Challenges therefore remain in obtaining a cross-functional view of contract information. Establishing frameworks for the contract review and determination work that will continue after the new standard takes effect is considered important.
Use of determination tools is expected to expand from 15.2% in 2025 to 30.7% in 2026. Although the proportion relying on visual review is expected to decline to 41.6%, it will still account for more than 40%. The issue of person-dependent determination criteria remains widespread, underscoring the need for standardisation and more efficient operations.
Efforts to use AI-assisted tools, including Steward, to support contract reading, information extraction and preliminary determinations are progressing. These efforts are viewed as helping to build sustainable operating frameworks.