I would like to caveat by explanation by saying I am admittedly less versed in IFRS than US GAAP, so there may be some technical differences between the two, but the spirit should be the same - there is actually corresponding gross up of your assets, equal to the net present value of your minimum lease payments, when you put the lease obligation on your balance sheet.

So at the the time you sign a new lease, you will put an asset and liability of equivalent value on the books. Assuming the useful life of the asset extends past the lease term, general expectation is that the asset value would be amortized over the term of the lease, and at the same time, interest expense will be recorded on the lease obligation. Ultimately the same amount of expense will be recorded (equal to the minimum lease payments), but the timing of the expense is different as it front loads the expense (because of the interest accretion). So you have that and the balance sheet gross up that will be different. The change, in theory, provides greater transparency related to what can be a significant obligation for a company.