Glossary of Common Leasing Terms

Off Balance Sheet Financing

A lease that qualifies as an Operating Lease for the lessee's financial accounting purposes. Such leases are referred to as off-balance sheet financing due to their exclusion from the balance sheet asset and debt presentation, except for that portion of the payments that is due in the current fiscal period. Full disclosure of such transactions is typically made in the auditor's notes to the financial statements. Periodic payments are recorded as expenses items on the lessee's income statement.