Case Study Global Leasing

A Study in Global IT Leasing

CSI Leasing Customer

Performs complex data analysis from oil & gas exploration findings
Headquartered in the southern US, with operating divisions on three continents and five countries
Maintaining the most current IT systems critical to business model

The Problem
A primary reason this company leases IT is to ensure current technology - a cornerstone of their competitive advantage lies in the ability to quickly compute complicated data and statistical analysis. Yet, with each global division choosing IT lessors autonomously, the corporate headquarters was burdened with a variety of problems. There was little consistency in lease terms and conditions, or in the way leases were accounted for financially. Despite a corporate policy mandating that all leases comply with US FASB 13 treatment for operating leases, the different international structures made it nearly impossible for the corporate accounting group to validate compliance.

The Solution
Our customer’s goals for each international operating division were: pre-negotiated terms, consistent lease rates worldwide, and a refresh schedule determined by the corporate office. Already enjoying a long-term relationship with CSI Leasing for the US operations, the CIO and CFO turned to CSI to examine a global IT leasing solution. Their CSI account manager took on the role of global account manager, and worked inside CSI to set up a consistent global program.

How We Did It
Because their US account manager has direct access to our international administration group, it was not difficult to make this happen. We established a single worldwide program to meet each of our customer’s goals. By negotiating all terms and lease rates globally, we were able to help our customer meet their FASB 13 requirements, while also allotting for differences in local tax laws.

Eliminating poor choices on a local level also helped our customer increase operational efficiencies. With two dedicated CSI lease administrators worldwide (one for all of North America and one for Europe), they now have a consistent and personal support team for ordering and documentation procedures. Additionally, the corporate IT group enjoys the ability to view global leased asset details through MyCSI in each location.

For this customer, the synergies from having a consistent theme worldwide show from an accounting standpoint, operations standpoint, and competitive standpoint.

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