Cornerstone chooses MRI Software to manage lease accounting and IFRS 16 requirements

Leading UK mobile infrastructure services company is deploying ProLease Enterprise to handle the complexities of telecoms and tower lease accounting while automating manual processes

London, February 28 – MRI Software, a global leader in real estate solutions, announces that Cornerstone, the leading UK mobile infrastructure services company, is deploying MRI ProLease Enterprise to manage its lease accounting, including International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 16) compliance. Cornerstone, is implementing the cloud-based lease accounting platform to automate manual processes around data onboarding, as well as more easily handle the complexities of IFRS 16. The accounting standard came into effect in January 2019 and requires leases to be recorded on balance sheets to increase the transparency of business exposure to costs.

Cornerstone will use ProLease Enterprise to onboard and manage its significant volume of site leases for both payables and receivable leases that run into the that run into the tens of thousands. The company previously had no centralised database solution in place to handle its payable and receivable leases. Due to the challenges around IFRS 16 compliance, it sought to implement a lease portfolio management tool that meets the complexities of the telecom and mobile tower business.

“We found that managing our lease portfolio and meeting IFRS 16 standards via spreadsheets and manual efforts was a significant challenge, and it became apparent the business needed a robust solution to help achieve our strategic objectives,” said Roger Keenan, Cornerstone’s Chief Financial Officer. “One of the key reasons we chose MRI is their demonstrable success with large TowerCo and telecom organisations automating leasing operations and accounting, along with their ability to understand and resolve our challenges and transform them into long-term strategic benefits. MRI ProLease Enterprise offers superior flexibility and a comprehensive set of features – solving various telecoms complexities, mitigating financial and audit risk, and helping to capitalise on opportunities.”

Cornerstone identified that ProLease Enterprise would successfully enable them to manage the income agreements from their tower leases and the payables leases for their land and other occupied sites in a single application. A common challenge in managing large TowerCo portfolios is the complex relationships between leases, properties and equipment. A second challenge is the dynamic nature of cell tower contracts because tower space is sub-let to optimise capacity utilisation.

“MRI is delighted to be working with the Cornerstone team to support their strategic objectives,” said Steve Fox, Sales Director at MRI Software. “It was evident from our first conversation that Cornerstone recognised the benefit of managing their entire portfolio through a comprehensive technology solution, delivering short- and long-term benefits. Our cloud-based solution has consistently evolved to help clients meet today’s rigorous accounting and financial reporting demands, including IFRS 16 compliance. We look forward to working with a well-respected leader in the Telecom and TowerCo industry.”

MRI Software has a significant telecom sector presence globally, working with many organisations, including Vodacom. The MRI solution suite covers everything from AI-powered lease abstraction and portfolio management to energy management to workplace and facilities management.

About Cornerstone

For information, please visit www.cornerstone.network