The new lease standards are among the more complicated parts of the accounting literature, to the point that it did not take long for specialized software to arise to conduct the complex calculations required.
LeaseQuery was one of the first to emerge in the wake of these new standards, forming in 2011 just one year after the Financial Accounting Standards Board released its 2010 exposure draft on what would, eventually, become ASC 842 many years later. Its founder, George Azih, knew that accountants would need help with things like calculating lease expenses, classifying leases correctly and determining discount rates, and that led the development of a new software platform, LeaseQuery.
Since then, the Atlanta-based company has refined its software to also include the ability to perform lease accounting in accordance not just with FASB's ASC 842 but also with GASB 87, IFRS 16, SSFAS 54, and various other lease standards. The company's customer base has also grown to include a wide range of industries, including real estate, health care, education, manufacturing, retail, restaurants, professional services, and more.
George Azih discussed LeaseQuery's various solutions and capabilities with Accounting Today, as well as its plans for the future, including the incorporation of new AI technology.
How would you best describe what your company does?
Azih: LeaseQuery streamlines accounting processes by leveraging technology, allowing accounting teams to transition from cumbersome spreadsheets to a secure cloud-based platform. Our SaaS platform enhances efficiency while the CPA-endorsed calculations prevent errors, empowering accountants with the operational tools, data accuracy, accounting intelligence, international considerations, and specific disclosure reports needed by regulators and auditors. LeaseQuery's cloud-based solutions, along with its in-house accounting expertise, are trusted by financial professionals worldwide to confidently comply with FASB, GASB, IASB, and SSFAS accounting standards, reducing risks, boosting productivity, and lowering business expenses.
What is in your product line, and what is your flagship product?
Azih: Our product line includes:
- LeaseQuery: Our flagship solution and a market leader for lease accounting, providing the calculations and reports necessary to comply with ASC 842, GASB 87, IFRS 16, SSFAS 54, and various others.
- LeaseQuery Essential: A lease accounting solution for simplified compliance and reporting for lease portfolios of 40 and under.
- LeaseGuru: A simple and secure lease accounting software that allows organizations with small lease portfolios to produce amortization schedules, journal entries, and disclosures required for ASC 842 or IFRS 16 compliance.
- LeaseQuery for GASB 96: A cloud-based solution that allows organizations to accurately account for subscription-based IT arrangements under GASB 96.
- LeaseQuery for NetSuite: This extends the power of NetSuite ERP with a CPA-approved lease accounting solution built entirely inside the SuiteCloud platform.
What was the last big initiative or project your company completed?
Azih: LeaseQuery has always developed products to simplify accountants' lives by empowering them to facilitate compliance without needing to be experts on the new lease accounting guidance. Now, we are leveraging artificial intelligence to help its users (who are not always accountants) understand their leases faster. LeaseQuery uses the power of AI to do the following:
- Extract key data to make data entry easier; and,
- Show users in context where their data came from so they can quickly and more efficiently navigate documents
AI isn't just about being the most accurate, but ultimately about helping users accomplish their work faster and with higher quality. The enhanced experience LeaseQuery customers get with AI is key.
What is the most exciting new thing you're working on?
Azih: Following along the lines for AI — LeaseQuery knows AI will never replace accountants. Ultimately, accounting is still and always will be a job for humans. However, we do think that accountants who know how to leverage AI to make their jobs more efficient and give themselves more time to focus on what matters — whether that's uncovering new financial insights, learning a new skill set, growing the business, or achieving a greater work-life balance — will replace those accountants who don't. Therefore, we are continuing to expand AI capabilities within our products to make accountants' lives easier in other areas. As to what those areas are … we can't say here just yet!
What differentiates your company?
Azih: Our in-house accounting expertise makes LeaseQuery unique. We are a business built by accountants for accountants. LeaseQuery has more than 40 experienced experienced accountants (including me) building our products and assisting our clients every step of the way. From the moment you get a demo of the product all the way to implementation and beyond, you will speak to dedicated accountants that will help you not only understand our solutions, but also the new accounting guidance, and other various other factors that go into lease accounting processes.
If you could telepathically transmit one sentence into the head of every accountant in the world, what would that sentence be?
Azih: If we could telepathically transmit one sentence to the head of every accountant in the world, that sentence would be, "Write it down."
Documentation of processes, procedures, and key decisions made every day are important for business continuity. Future you, with everything else you have going on, will appreciate being able to reference a living document of "important things" to remember the business reasoning behind why something was done or not done a certain way.
It doesn't have to be a fancy memo to be disseminated internally. "Writing it down" can simply mean putting it in a document or shared space and noting what was discussed, when it was discussed, and why the decision was made. Having this means one less thing you as an accountant has to remember, and it helps the people who come after us know what we were thinking.
LeaseQuery at a glance:
Headquarters: Atlanta
Number of staff: 350
Number of accounting firms worked with: 215
Number of accountants served: 36,000
Number of products: 5
Number of partners: 200+
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