New accounting rules governing off-balance-sheet transactions went into effect for most companies in January 2010. The rules force companies to put assets, like mortgage servicing rights, back on their balance sheets.

Questions:

1. What financial accounting standards (FASs) are forcing companies to put such assets back on their balance sheets?
2. What are some of the reasons that these assets are returning to the balance sheet?
3. Since their enactment, which industry is most impacted by the new accounting rules?
4. Can you speculate why companies, like Harley Davidson and Marriott International, showed big jumps in assets, due to these new rules?

Source: Leone, Marie. (2010). Balance Sheets Are Busting Out All Over, CFO.com, April 23.
(Retrievable online at http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/14492562?f=most_read)