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o Refer to the most recent FedEx financial statementwhich can be found at www.fe

ID: 2447497 • Letter: O

Question

o   Refer to the most recent FedEx financial statementwhich can be found at www.fedex.com or through the Mergent Onlinedatabase in the LRC.

o   Explain what management means when it says someleases “ qualify as off-balance sheet” financing.

o   Refer to the note on Lease Commitments in thedisclosure notes. Determine FedEx’s capital leaseliability.

o   If the operating leases were capitalized,approximately how much would that increase the capital leaseliability?

o   Determine the impact on the company’sdebt-equity ratio. (Refer to the balance sheet).

Explanation / Answer

A form of financing in which large capital expenditures are notadded to the company's balance sheet throughout variousclassification methods. Companies will often useoff-balance-sheet financing to keep their debt to equity (D/E) and leverageratios low, especially if the inclusion of a large expenditurewould break negative debt covenants.

Operating leases are one of the most common forms ofoff-balance-sheet financing. Meaning, the asset itself is kept backon the lessor's balance sheet, and the lessee supplies informationon required rental expense only for use of the asset.