Financing in which the assets and liabilities involved do not appear on the firm's balance sheet.

financing that allows for payment over time and is not shown as a liability on the companyâ€(tm)s balance sheet.

lease that qualifies as an Operating Lease for the lessee's financial accounting purposes. Such leases are referred to as off-balance sheet financing due to their exclusion from the balance sheet asset and debt presentation, except for that portion of the payments that is due in the current fiscal period. Full disclosure of such transactions is typically made in the auditor's notes to the financial statements. Periodic payments are recorded as expense items on the lessee's income statement.

Any form of financing, such as an operating lease, which, for financial reporting purposes, is not required to be reported on a firm's balance sheet.