Every now and again I get asked the question ‘where’s the new leasing standard getting to?’ To which the answer is that the standards are still edging towards completion.

For those who have advocated global convergence of accounting standards, the plural ‘standards’ in the previous sentence will come as a disappointment, because after some years of co-operation, it is becoming more likely that two new standards will emerge.

One is likely to be issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and one by the US equivalent, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).