In addition, renewal options are widely used in leasing contracts, and the manner in which options are accounted for can have a material impact on the financial statements of many firms. Consider CKE Restaurants, the owner of the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. chains. In 2004, CKE restated their financial statements because of irregularities with its accounting for lease options. CKE was defining the lease term as the initial lease period plus optional renewal periods when computing amortization expense on leasehold improvements (which reduces periodic amortization expense). However, when evaluating whether the lease should be treated as a capital lease, CKE did not include the optional renewal periods in the lease term. Several other restaurants restated their financial statements soon thereafter for the same reason.