A Study in Global Technology Leasing

CSI Leasing Customer:

  • Performs complex data analysis from oil and gas exploration findings
  • Headquartered in the southern U.S., with operating divisions on three continents and five countries
  • Maintaining the most current technology systems critical to business model

The Problem:
The primary reason this company leases technology is to stay current. A cornerstone of their competitive advantage lies in the ability to quickly compute complicated data and statistical analysis. Yet, with each global division choosing technology 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 U.S. 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 U.S. operations, the CIO and CFO turned to CSI to examine a global technology leasing solution. Their CSI account executive took on the role of global account manager, and worked inside CSI to set up a consistent global program.

How We Did It:
Because the U.S. account executive 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 its 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), the customer now has a consistent and personal support team for ordering and documentation procedures. Additionally, the corporate technology group enjoys the ability to view global leased asset details through MyCSISM in each location.

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