How Accounting Firms Keep Up With ASC 842 Lease Changes Without Burning Out
Public companies adopted ASC 842 for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, while private companies and non-profits adopted the standard for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021.
Since then, accounting for ASC 842 hasn’t settled, and many firms are realizing that spreadsheets alone aren’t enough. ASC 842 lease accounting software has become a necessity. Client lease portfolios change constantly as new leases are signed and terms are modified. On top of that, annual audits, quarterly reporting, and recurring deadlines repeat year after year.
Additionally, firms are dealing with fewer staff and tighter timelines. 52% of accountants expect their firms to reduce headcount by 20% over the next five years. What used to feel manageable now feels like a constant state of catch-up.
That pressure adds up. Late nights and weekend work are the result of workflows that weren’t built for ongoing change, especially without ASC 842 lease accounting software in place.
This blog breaks down why firms get stuck in that cycle, where ASC 842 workflows tend to fall apart, and how accounting firms can keep up with lease changes using scalable processes and ASC 842 lease accounting software.
Adoption was just the beginning of ASC 842. Lease accounting under this standard is inherently ongoing, which is why many firms eventually outgrow spreadsheets and turn to ASC 842 lease accounting software.
ASC 842 rarely causes problems all at once. Burnout shows up in the places where small, recurring tasks turn into ongoing drains, especially when firms lack ASC 842 lease accounting software to manage them efficiently. For most firms, those issues tend to show up in the same areas:
Modifications and remeasurements are often the biggest time sink because they don’t lend themselves to quick fixes. When a lease changes mid-term, it means recalculations and updated schedules.
Firms commonly struggle with tracking what changed and when, especially if updates come in piecemeal from clients. Teams end up manually rebuilding schedules, even when only one assumption changed. Then, during audit review, they’re tasked with explaining exactly why balances moved and how those changes were calculated.
Spreadsheets make this harder than it needs to be. There’s no built-in change history, and it’s easy to overwrite prior assumptions without realizing it. Once that happens, the original logic behind a calculation can be difficult to reconstruct, leading to more review time and more stress.
Discount rates are another recurring pain point. Incremental borrowing rates require judgment, consistency, and documentation.
Without a standardized approach, inconsistency creeps in. When assumptions live in email threads or someone’s memory, risk increases. Manual inputs make it easy to miss updates or apply outdated logic, which is why many firms rely on ASC 842 lease accounting software to enforce consistency.
Many firms find themselves scrambling to recreate documentation after calculations have been done. Version control issues make it hard to tell which file is final. Audit trails are incomplete or inconsistent, forcing teams to dig back through old files and correspondence.
The spreadsheet handoff is a familiar cycle. The firm builds the model, the client updates it, and the firm reviews and fixes what came back. Through this process, formulas break and multiple versions circulate, highlighting the limits of spreadsheets compared to shared ASC 842 lease accounting software.
Firms that avoid burnout tend to follow the same core principles of ASC 842 workflows:
Centralization is foundational. When lease data lives in multiple spreadsheets or inboxes, every update creates uncertainty. A centralized system creates a single source of truth that teams can rely on across engagements and reporting periods.
For firms, this makes it easier for everyone to work with the same data, answer client questions, and spend less time reconciling version differences.
Clear change tracking makes it easier to understand what changed, when it changed, and why. Just as important, standardized documentation creates a stronger audit trail and reduces follow-up questions during review. When updates follow a consistent process, modifications can be addressed faster and with more confidence.
Lease accounting automation removes repetitive, manual work that slows teams down and introduces risk. Automated calculations handle recalculations after changes without requiring full schedule rebuilds. This helps create consistent journal entries and disclosure-ready reports.
Less manual checking leads to fewer errors and more confidence in the numbers. Audit cycles become more predictable instead of compressed and stressful.
The biggest mindset shift is moving from “audit prep” to “audit ready.” When support and documentation are maintained throughout the year, audits are seamless. This approach helps prevent burnout. Teams know what’s coming, and the workflow is built to handle it.
When evaluating ASC 842 lease accounting software, not all tools are built with CPA firms in mind. Some are designed primarily for in-house accounting teams, while others focus on basic compliance without considering how firms actually work across multiple clients. Here’s what you should look for:
Dual access should be non-negotiable. Firm-client collaboration works best when both sides are working from the same system, not passing spreadsheets back and forth. Dual access reduces version control issues, keeps assumptions transparent, and eliminates the cleanup that often follows client-updated files.
Strong reporting outputs are equally important. Firms need audit-ready schedules and disclosure-friendly reports that can be used consistently across clients. Standardized outputs simplify review and make it easier to maintain year-over-year consistency without rebuilding reports each cycle.
Software should fit into existing workflows with minimal disruption and require little ramp-up time. If it’s intuitive for both firm and client users, adoption happens faster and resistance drops.
Long-term success depends on what comes after implementation. Strong onboarding should help teams get productive quickly, while ongoing guidance ensures they can adapt as lease standards evolve and client situations change. Software built by professionals with real lease accounting automation experience is more likely to align with how CPA firms actually work, rather than forcing teams into rigid, generic processes.
When evaluating ASC 842 lease accounting software, it’s worth asking:
Clear answers to these questions can make the difference between a tool that simply checks the compliance box and one that truly supports your firm over time.
ASC 842 lease accounting software should fully support day-to-day accounting and reporting needs without manual workarounds. At a minimum, it should:
In addition, the software should offer both standardized and customizable reporting, giving firms the flexibility to report across different lease types while maintaining consistency and audit readiness.
ASC 842 lease accounting software should be able to grow with your firm and support a wide range of client scenarios. Flexibility and scalability are critical when you’re managing different industries, lease types, and portfolio sizes.
When evaluating a solution, consider:
A scalable, flexible platform ensures your lease accounting process won’t need to be rebuilt as your client base grows or becomes more complex.
Accurately loading existing lease data is a critical step when selecting ASC 842 lease accounting software. If the data isn’t right at the start, errors can follow it through every calculation and report.
Key capabilities to look for include:
One of the biggest advantages of ASC 842 lease accounting software over spreadsheets is how much easier it makes audits and reviews. The right platform should provide clear visibility into both inputs and outputs, with built-in audit trails that show how data, assumptions, and calculations change over time.
Look for software that offers reporting specifically designed for audit and review purposes, making it easier to trace balances back to their source and respond to audit questions efficiently.
It’s also critical to protect your firm’s independence. When evaluating a solution, confirm that the platform complies with AICPA independence guidelines related to hosting and data access. This ensures CPA firms can support clients without compromising professional standards.
For CPA firms supporting clients through ASC 842, collaboration is essential. ASC 842 lease accounting software should make it easy for firms and clients to work together in the same system, with role-based access that supports shared visibility without creating confusion.
When evaluating a platform, consider whether it offers features like single sign-on for managing access across multiple clients and whether both firm and client users can securely view and update the same lease data.
Data security is another major advantage of purpose-built software over spreadsheets, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Firms should evaluate the platform’s security controls, access permissions, and compliance with recognized security standards. Understanding how data is protected helps reduce risk and ensures sensitive lease information is handled appropriately.
ASC 842 isn’t going away. Lease portfolios will keep changing, guidance will continue to evolve, and reporting deadlines will keep coming. But burnout doesn’t have to be the price firms pay to stay compliant, especially when firms adopt ASC 842 lease accounting software designed for CPA workflows.
The firms that handle ASC 842 best recognize lease accounting automation as an ongoing process that requires structure and workflows built to handle change as it happens. By investing in systems and processes that scale, they reduce rework, improve accuracy, and give their teams breathing room during even the busiest seasons.
That’s where Crunchafi’s ASC 842 lease accounting software comes in. Built by CPAs, for CPAs, Crunchafi centralizes lease data, standardizes how changes are captured, and automates calculations and reporting outputs in a dual-access platform designed for firm-client collaboration. The result is audit-ready data year-round and a workflow that’s designed to keep up without burning teams out.
If you’re ready to get started, schedule a demo with Crunchafi to learn more about how our Lease Accounting software can support your firm.
The changes under ASC 842 that require a lease remeasurement are:
CPA firms stay compliant with ASC 842 by treating lease accounting as an ongoing process. Year-over-year compliance depends on having repeatable workflows that can handle recurring lease changes, audits, and reporting deadlines without relying on manual rework.
The most effective firms focus on a few core practices:
ASC 842 lease accounting software should automate the most time-consuming and error-prone parts of lease accounting, including lease calculations, remeasurements, journal entries, and disclosure-ready reports. At a minimum, the software should automate initial and ongoing lease calculations, including modifications and remeasurements, recalculations when assumptions change, such as lease terms or discount rates, journal entries, and reports.
Yes. Lease accounting software can significantly reduce audit-season workload by providing clear audit trails, generating audit-ready reports and schedules, reducing version control issues, and minimizing client back-and-forth.
