States and Cities Get an 18-Month Reprieve on Lease Accounting

U.S. cities and states will have an extra 18 months to prepare for a major change in lease accounting, the government-accounting rulemaker said Friday.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board also delayed by a year the effective dates for eight other accounting rule changes, including those for fiduciary activities, conduit debt obligations, and major equity interests.

• Municipal and state governments were set to adopt the new lease accounting rules this year, and government accountants sought the relief because their work has been hampered by stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Under the new lease rules, known ...