We’ve received a lot of feedback on our earlier blog on OpEx vs. CapEx treatment for cloud-based technology purchases. And we continue to encounter customers who would prefer to capitalize their cloud technology investments for the reasons mentioned in the blog post (particularly those companies, or executives, who are concerned about EBITDA). So we’ve been looking at this more closely.
One interesting consideration is introduced by some new IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) guidelines that took effect at the beginning of 2019. Of particular interest are the changes related to the IFRS 16 standard which say that going forward, virtually all leases must be treated as CapEx. Why this matters has to do with the definition of a “lease.”