Deferred rent occurs when rent expense exceeds actual payments, affecting balance sheet accounts. Under ASC 842, operating leases must appear on balance sheets, altering how deferred rent is recorded.

"It's a nightmare for us," said Kristi Toupal, who runs Rent-A-Center's accounts payable department. Toupal had a staff of 25 people keying data from the invoices into a Lawson Software accounting ...