Founded in Finland in 1950, Amer Sports offers a broad portfolio of sporting goods with internationally recognized brands such as Salomon, Arc’teryx, Peak Performance, Precor, Atomic, Suunto, and Wilson. Employing 9,500 people in multiple countries, Amer Sports primarily sells its merchandise via B2B and wholesale channels but also distributes its goods in a growing number of brand stores, factory outlets, sporting goods chains, and e-commerce. After evaluating the options in the market, Amer Sports determined that Nakisa's lease accounting software (aka Nakisa Lease Administration or NLA) was the ideal solution to fit their requirements.
Challenges before Nakisa's lease accounting software
Amer Sports operates a complex leasing scenario. With a dominant SAP ERP, multiple disconnected ERPs, and a lease portfolio of over 1,500 contracts, its global leasing landscape includes warehouses, factories, offices, storefronts, and vehicle leases. Amer Sports’ real estate contracts require both indexation and ongoing, multi-currency contract changes. As a company with multiple brands, its lease accounting operations were decentralized, with both users and data often siloed. When the company altered its retail strategy, thereby increasing its global leasing portfolio, it needed a solution robust enough to leverage these changes, offer a global view of its lease landscape, and meet the lease accounting standards.
The solution: Nakisa's lease accounting software
Amer Sports required a single, centralized, global solution with native SAP integration able to meet the latest compliance standards, including IFRS 16. With the company’s decentralized leasing process and 80+ users located around the world, they needed an easy-to-use cloud-based application able to handle a variety of leases and able to operate in multiple currencies. A single application instance in the cloud, accessible worldwide, was one of their prerequisites, as working with a cloud solution allows for digital warehousing for assets, liabilities, and payment schedules, and original contracts may be directly attached as embedded documents. These features were key for users to be able to concentrate on accounting topics without requiring access to paper documentation for reconciliation and audit purposes.
Pro Tip
Your CoE needs to understand additional systems that are not part of the core leasing subledger or ERP, so users can access the data they need. Those systems can be:
- Real Estate (part of IWMS)
- Accounts Payable
- Fixed (Purchased) Assets
- Fleet Management
- IT Asset Management Systems (ITAMs)
- Contract Management & Origination
- Deferred Income Tax - Lease
- Lease vs. buy
- Others
After evaluating the options in the market, Amer Sports determined that Nakisa's lease accounting and IFRS 16 solution was the ideal solution to fit their requirements.
The Results after implementing Nakisa's IFRS 16 software
Amer Sports was the first to adopt Nakisa's finance cloud-native solution in the region. The transition went smoothly, and Amer Sports now operates an easily manageable solution with an intuitive user interface and a centralized view of its leasing portfolio.
“We are highly satisfied with the tool’s efficiency,” said Daniel Marosi, Manager Amer IT Finance Solutions. “The solution integrates seamlessly with our multiple SAP ERPs, our users find the tool easy to use, and our Group Finance and Financial Shared Service Center spend far less time resolving lease accounting issues.”
Prior to working with Nakisa, each region and brand followed its lease accounting processes. Thanks to Nakisa's software, Amer Sports now operates centralized lease asset accounting in their European Financial Shared Service Center. The result has been a streamlined lease accounting process, which has cut down on the time and effort required by different departments. With four main user groups (Local Financial, Lease Accountants, Super Users, and IT Consultants) and over 80 lease accounting operators, the time and cost savings are significant. “The scalability of Nakisa’s lease accounting tool has simplified our B2C expansion and has increased the overall transparency of our leasing process,” said Katariina Juthström, Director Group Accounting and Reporting.
“With Nakisa Lease Accounting, Amer Sports was able to consolidate their lease data using a single tool,” said Imran Mia, Nakisa’s VP of Global Solutions Engineering – Finance. “We were pleased that the versatility and scalability of our solution have enabled Amer Sports to harmonize the lease accounting process throughout the company and add increased visibility into their business operations.”
Daniel Marosi
Manager Amer IT Finance Solutions at Amer Sports
Looking for a lease accounting solution tailor-made for global enterprises?
Look no further! Nakisa’s lease accounting software is designed to meet the complex needs of global enterprises. This comprehensive solution supports parallel compliance with IFRS 16, ASC 842, and local GAAP standards, ensuring your organization remains in line with the latest accounting regulations. It offers robust functionality for managing lease data across various jurisdictions, simplifying the consolidation and reporting processes.
With Nakisa’s user-friendly interface, advanced analytics, and native bidirectional integrations with SAP ECC, SAP S4/HANA, and Oracle, large organizations can streamline and simplify their lease accounting operations, enhance transparency, and make more informed financial decisions. Whether you are handling real estate, equipment, land, or fleet leases, Nakisa provides the flexibility and scalability required to support your global lease portfolio. Discover more about Nakisa Lease Accounting here, or request a demo tailored to your specific business requirements.
