SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | NOTE 2 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES a. Accounting Period b. Principles of Consolidation - We consolidate a variable interest entity (the “VIE”) in which we are considered the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary is the entity that has (i) the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could be significant to the VIE. As of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, we had no VIEs. We assess the accounting treatment for each joint venture. This assessment includes a review of each joint venture or limited liability company agreement to determine which party has what rights and whether those rights are protective or participating. For all VIEs, we review such agreements in order to determine which party has the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance. In situations where we and our partner approve, among other things, the annual budget, receive a detailed monthly reporting package, meet on a quarterly basis to review the results of the joint venture, review and approve the joint venture’s tax return before filing, and approve all leases that cover more than a nominal amount of space relative to the total rentable space at each property, we do not consolidate the joint venture as we consider these to be substantive participation rights that result in shared power of the activities that most significantly impact the performance of the joint venture. Our joint venture agreements may contain certain protective rights such as requiring partner approval to sell, finance or refinance the property and the payment of capital expenditures and operating expenditures outside of the approved budget or operating plan. c. Investments in Unconsolidated Joint Ventures - d. Use of Estimates e. Reportable Segments f. Concentrations of Credit Risk g. Real Estate Category Terms Building and improvements 10 - 39 years Tenant improvements Shorter of remaining term of the lease or useful life h. Real Estate Under Development i. Valuation of Long-Lived Assets j. Trademarks and Customer Lists k. Fair Value Measurements Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Where available, fair value is based on observable market prices or parameters or derived from such prices or parameters. Where observable prices or inputs are not available, valuation models are applied. These valuation techniques involve some level of management estimation and judgment, the degree of which is dependent on the price transparency for the instruments or market and the instruments’ complexity. Assets and liabilities disclosed at fair value are categorized based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their fair value. Hierarchical levels, which are defined by ASC 820-10-35, are directly related to the amount of subjectivity associated with the inputs to fair valuation of these assets and liabilities. Determining which category an asset or liability falls within the hierarchy requires significant judgment and we evaluate our hierarchy disclosures each quarter. Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 l. Cash and Cash Equivalents m. Restricted Cash - n. Revenue Recognition o. Stock-Based Compensation p. Income Taxes ASC 740-10-65 addresses the determination of whether tax benefits claimed or expected to be claimed on a tax return should be recorded in the financial statements. Under ASC 740-10-65, we may recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position should be measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. ASC 740-10-65 also provides guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties on income taxes, accounting in interim periods and requires increased disclosures. As of both December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, we had determined that no liabilities are required in connection with unrecognized tax positions. As of December 31, 2017, our tax returns for the prior three years are subject to review by the Internal Revenue Service. On December 22, 2017, the President of the United States signed into law P.L. 115-97, commonly referred to as the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”). The Act modifies several provisions of the Internal Revenue Code related to corporations, including a permanent corporate income tax rate reduction from 35% to 21%, effective January 1, 2018. See Note 5 Taxes for additional detail on our accounting for income taxes, including additional discussion on the enactment of the Act and the resulting impact on our 2017 financial statements. We are subject to certain federal, state, local and franchise taxes. q. Earnings (loss) Per Share r. Deferred Financing Costs s. Deferred Lease Costs t. Underwriting Commissions and Costs u. Reclassifications - v. Change in Estimate Accounting Standards Updates In August 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The amendments in the new standard will permit more flexibility in hedging interest rate risk for both variable rate and fixed rate financial instruments. The standard will also enhance the presentation of hedge results in the financial statements. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and early adoption is permitted. We have not yet adopted the guidance and do not expect a material impact on our consolidated financial statements when the new standard is implemented. In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718), Scope of Modification Accounting. The guidance clarifies the changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award that require an entity to apply modification accounting in Topic 718. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and early adoption is permitted. We have not yet adopted the guidance and do not expect a material impact on our consolidated financial statements when the new standard is implemented. In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-05, Other Income-Gains and Losses from the De-recognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20) to add guidance for partial sales of nonfinancial assets, including partial sales of real estate. Historically, U.S. GAAP contained several different accounting models to evaluate whether the transfer of certain assets qualified for sale treatment. ASU 2017-05 reduces the number of potential accounting models that might apply and clarifies which model does apply in various circumstances. ASU 2017-05 is effective for annual reporting periods after December 16, 2017, including interim reporting period within that reporting period. The adoption of ASU 2017-05 is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. The guidance clarifies the definition of a business and provides guidance to assist with determining whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions of assets or businesses. The main provision is that an acquiree is not a business if substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of assets. Upon the adoption of ASU No. 2017-01 in 2017, we evaluate each acquisition of real estate or in-substance real estate to determine if the integrated set of assets and activities acquired meet the definition of a business and need to be accounted as a business combination. If either of the following criteria is met, the integrated set of assets and activities acquired would not qualify as a business: · Substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in either a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets; or · The integrated set of assets and activities is lacking, at a minimum, an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create outputs (i.e. revenue generated before and after the transaction). An acquired process is considered substantive if: · The process includes an organized workforce (or includes an acquired contract that provides access to an organized workforce) that is skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced in performing the process; · The process cannot be replaced without significant cost, effort, or delay; or · The process is considered unique or scarce. Generally, we expect that acquisitions of real estate or in-substance real estate will not meet the revised definition of a business because substantially all of the fair value is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar identifiable assets (i.e. land, buildings, and related intangible assets) or because the acquisition does not include a substantive process in the form of an acquired workforce or an acquired contract that cannot be replaced without significant cost, effort or delay. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. The guidance will require entities to show the changes on the total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. As a result, entities will no longer present transfers between these items on the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. We have not yet adopted this new guidance and are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this new accounting standard on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (A Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). The ASU provides final guidance on eight cash flow issues, including debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, distributions received from equity method investees, separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle, and others. The amendments in the ASU are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. We will adopt this new guidance for the year beginning January 1, 2018 and we have determined this new accounting standard will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-09, CompensationStock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. ASU 2016-09 changes how companies account for certain aspects of share-based payment awards to employees, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those annual periods. If an entity early adopts in an interim period, any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period and the entity must adopt all of the amendments from ASU 2016-09 in the same period. We elected to early adopt ASU 2016-09 as of January 1, 2016 and the adoption has resulted in an adjustment of a reduction in real estate, net of $0.5 million, a reduction in liability related to stock-based compensation of $5.1 million, an increase in additional paid-in capital of $4.4 million and an increase in retained earnings of $0.2 million (see Adoption of New Accounting Principle below). In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases. ASU 2016-02 outlines a new model for accounting by lessees, whereby their rights and obligations under substantially all leases, existing and new, would be capitalized and recorded on the balance sheet. For lessors, however, the accounting remains largely unchanged from the current model, with the distinction between operating and financing leases retained, but updated to align with certain changes to the lessee model and the new revenue recognition standard discussed above. As lessee, we are party to an office lease with future payment obligations aggregating $3.2 million at December 31, 2017 (see Note 9 - Commitments) for which we expect to record right of use assets and liabilities upon adoption of ASU 2016-02. The new guidance also requires that internal leasing costs be expensed as incurred, as opposed to capitalized and deferred. We do not capitalize internal leasing costs. ASU 2016-02 will also require extensive quantitative and qualitative disclosures and is effective beginning after December 15, 2018, but early adoption is permitted. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2014-09 is a comprehensive new revenue recognition model requiring a company to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to a customer at an amount reflecting the consideration it expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 does not apply to our lease revenues, but may apply to reimbursed tenant costs. Additionally, this guidance modifies disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09 for all entities by one year, until years beginning in 2018, with early adoption permitted but not before 2017. Entities may adopt ASU 2014-09 using either a full retrospective approach reflecting the application of the standard in each prior reporting period with the option to elect certain practical expedients or a retrospective approach with the cumulative effect recognized at the date of adoption. Management believes the majority of our revenue falls outside of the scope of this guidance and does not anticipate any significant changes to the timing of our revenue recognition. We intend to implement the standard on a modified retrospective basis with the cumulative effect recognized in retained earnings at the date of application. |