A Grant Thornton-commissioned survey has revealed that nearly half of UK businesses are unaware of proposed lease accounting changes that will radically alter the make-up of their balance sheet.

The survey of businesses in more than 40 countries found that while 78% held leases, only 42% of the 3,450 companies were actually aware of the IASB's intention to bring leases onto the balance sheet.

Of those questioned in the UK, 44% of businesses admitted to being in the dark about the proposed changes, but only 16% thought it would increase costs and add to the complexity of reporting.

For those that did have leases, the average number held was 20, with Swedish companies possessing most at 68, while the average UK company had 10.

Tarun Mistry, partner and head of Leasing and Consumer Finance at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: 'We welcome efforts to improve the definition of a lease in order to distinguish leases from service contracts and address concerns about front-loaded expense recognition. The key question now is whether these changes address constituents' concerns sufficiently to enable the project to move forward - if not then a reboot will be needed.

'We have said earlier that the lack of transparency around operating leases needs to be addressed. The information in the financial statements currently does not provide complete, readily understandable information about the obligations associated with operating leases. But change for the sake of change is not the goal. A new standard that is not based on clear, consistent principles could actually make things worse. A major change to lease accounting is a once in a generation event and the boards need to be patient to get things right.'