Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

New Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)

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New Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
New Accounting Pronouncements
New Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2017-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. ASU 2017-09 amends the scope of modification accounting for share-based payment arrangements, and provides guidance on the types of changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payment awards to which an entity would be required to apply modification accounting under ASC 718. ASU 2017-07 is effective for annual reporting periods, including interim periods within those annual reporting periods, beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in any interim period. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new guidance, but we do not expect the adoption to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-05, "Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets." ASU 2017-05 clarifies the definition of an in-substance nonfinancial asset and changes the accounting for partial sales of nonfinancial assets to be more consistent with the accounting for a sale of a business pursuant to ASU 2017-01. This update is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 using a full retrospective or modified retrospective method and is required to be adopted in conjunction with ASU 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" discussed below. We will adopt ASU 2017-05 effective January 1, 2018, along with our adoption of ASU 2014-09, using the modified retrospective approach. We are currently evaluating the impact this standard may have on our consolidated financial statements. Subsequent to adoption, we believe most of our future contributions of nonfinancial assets to our joint ventures where we cease to have a controlling financial interest, if any, will result in the recognition of a full gain or loss as if we sold 100% of the nonfinancial asset and we will also measure our retained interest at fair value.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Clarifying the Definition of a Business (Topic 805). ASU 2017-01 clarifies the definition of a business and provides further guidance for evaluating whether a transaction will be accounted for as an acquisition of an asset or a business. ASU 2017-01 is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is permitted. The update should be applied prospectively. We early adopted this standard on January 1, 2017. We believe most of our future acquisitions of operating properties will qualify as asset acquisitions and certain transaction costs associated with these acquisitions will be capitalized.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. This ASU requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash. Amounts generally described as restricted cash should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The update should be applied retrospectively to each period presented.  The pronouncement is effective for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. We plan to adopt this pronouncement for our fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018, and the pronouncement will result in changes to our consolidated statements of cash flows such that restricted cash amounts will be included in the beginning-of-period and end-of-period cash and cash equivalents totals.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, the Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force), which finalizes Proposed ASU No. EITF-15F of the same name, and addresses stakeholders’ concerns regarding diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows under Topic 230, Statement of Cash Flows, and other Topics. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and for interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The ASU should be adopted using a retrospective transition approach. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new guidance, but we do not expect the adoption to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which requires measurement and recognition of expected versus incurred credit losses for financial assets held. This ASU will be applied on a prospective basis for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new guidance, but we do not expect the adoption to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases. ASU 2016-02, codified in ASC 842, amends the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets and making targeted changes to lessor accounting. ASU 2016-02 will be effective beginning in the first quarter of 2019. Early adoption of ASU 2016-02 as of its issuance is permitted. We will adopt ASU 2016-02 effective January 1, 2019. The new leases standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, with an option to use certain transition relief. Based on a preliminary assessment, we expect our significant operating lease commitments, primarily ground leases, will be required to be recognized as operating lease liabilities and right-of-use assets upon adoption, resulting in an increase in the assets and liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Upon adoption, we anticipate separating lease components from nonlease components, which will be evaluated under ASU 2014-09, as described below. We are continuing our evaluation, which may identify additional impacts this standard will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC 605, Revenue Recognition. This ASU is based on the principle that revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 applies to all contracts with customers, except those that are within the scope of other topics in the FASB's Accounting Standards Codification, including real estate lease contracts, which the majority of our revenue is derived from.  We are required to adopt the new pronouncement in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 using one of two retrospective application methods. In March 2016, April 2016, May 2016 and February 2017, the FASB issued the following amendments to clarify the implementation guidance: ASU No. 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net), ASU No. 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, and ASU No. 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)—Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients. We will adopt ASU 2014-09 effective January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective approach. We have identified our revenue streams that we believe will be impacted by the new standard, which are service revenue from management, marketing, development, and leasing fees . While the total revenue recognized over time would not differ under the new guidance, the recognition pattern would be different. We are in the process of evaluating the impact on our consolidated financial statements and internal accounting processes. We currently do not expect the adoption of ASU 2014-09 or related amendments and modifications by the FASB to have a material impact on the amount of revenue we recognize in our consolidated financial statements but we do expect to have additional disclosure as required by the adoption of ASU 2014-09.