LeaseAccelerator announced that IFRS 16 lease accounting expert John Kuett has joined the company as its new Vice President, Lease Accounting EMEA. Kuett brings over 20 years of experience leading financial reporting, accounting and compliance for multinationals.
Based in Switzerland, John Kuett was most recently the Reporting Specialist at Nestlé, a $100 billion international consumer products manufacturer, where he was responsible for the implementation and application of changes in the International Financial Reporting at Group level. At Nestlé, Kuett established and updated the company's internal and external financial reporting guidelines, as well as provided vital advice and support on how the guidelines applied to specific issues and transactions across the global businesses.
Most recently, John led Nestlé's early adoption of IFRS 16 on the company's SAP platform using a full retrospective transition approach and then set up a leasing global centre of excellence in the firm's shared services organization. Prior to that, John led the project team for IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. He also directed training of the global Nestlé Finance & Control community. John Kuett's previous roles include Controller and Assistant Treasurer at Jenny Craig, Inc. and Vice President and Controller at Frederick's of Hollywood.
Kuett is a leading industry IFRS expert, specialising in topics such as IFRS 15 Revenue, IAS 16 Property, Plant & Equipment, IFRS 16 Leases, IAS 36 Impairment of Assets, IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets, and IAS 38 Intangible Assets.
"John's extensive experience will be invaluable in helping our clients succeed with their IFRS 16 compliance projects," said Michael Keeler, CEO of LeaseAccelerator. "He understands the interrelationships and dependencies among all of the IFRS standards – not just IFRS 16. As a former corporate controller, he can brainstorm and collaborate with our customers at all levels and at every stage of their implementation project and long-term operations."
"To adopt IFRS 16 without breaking the bank, companies need to substantially change how they manage, control and account for leases by automating the processes as much as possible," said John Kuett. "I joined LeaseAccelerator because its mission is to take costs, risks and time out of the global close process through automation. This is what controllers need right now. In my new role, I'll help customers and partners with all aspects of their LeaseAccelerator IFRS 16 implementation projects."
John will be speaking at the IFRS 16 – Application in Practice conference on 5 March in Amsterdam. His presentation, IFRS 16 Leases - Beyond Day 1, will explore the challenges and best practices associated with maintaining the integrity of the lease database, capturing ROU activity for reporting and disclosure, and achieving efficiencies and cost savings.