Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
Feb. 29, 2020
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc. ("Griffin") is a real estate business principally engaged in developing, acquiring, managing and leasing industrial/warehouse properties. Griffin seeks to add to its industrial/warehouse property portfolio through the acquisition and development of land or the purchase of buildings in select markets targeted by Griffin. Griffin also owns several office/flex properties and undeveloped land. Periodically, Griffin may sell certain of its real estate assets that it has owned for an extended time period and the use of which is not consistent with Griffin's core development and leasing strategy. Griffin’s consolidated financial statements reflect its accounts and its consolidated subsidiaries. Griffin consolidates the subsidiaries it controls through (i) voting rights or similar rights or (ii) by means other than voting rights if Griffin is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). There are no VIEs in which Griffin is not a primary beneficiary. Griffin may acquire property using a reverse like-kind exchange structure (a “Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange”) under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to defer taxable gains on the subsequent sale of real estate property. As such, the acquired property (the “Parked Property”) is in the possession of a qualified intermediary engaged to execute the Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange until the subsequent sale transaction and the Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange are completed. Griffin retains essentially all of the legal and economic benefits and obligations related to the Parked Property prior to the completion of the Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange. As such, a Parked Property is included in Griffin’s consolidated financial statements as a consolidated VIE until legal title is transferred to Griffin upon completion of the Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange. These financial statements have been prepared in conformity with the standards of accounting measurement set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 270, “Interim Reporting” and in accordance with the accounting policies stated in Griffin’s audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019 (“fiscal 2019”) included in Griffin’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 13, 2020. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements appearing in that report. All adjustments, comprising only normal recurring adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of results for the interim periods, have been reflected and all intercompany transactions have been eliminated. The consolidated balance sheet data as of November 30, 2019 was derived from Griffin’s audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses in the reporting period. Griffin regularly evaluates estimates and assumptions related to the useful life and recoverability of long-lived assets, stock-based compensation expense, deferred income tax asset valuations and the valuation of derivative instruments. Griffin bases its estimates and assumptions on current facts, historical experience and various other factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the accrual of costs and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. The actual results experienced by Griffin may differ materially and adversely from Griffin’s estimates. To the extent there are material differences between the estimates and the actual results, future results of operations will be affected. Griffin considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. At February 29, 2020 and November 30, 2019, $7,138 and $4,299, respectively, of the cash and cash equivalents included on Griffin’s consolidated balance sheets were held in cash equivalents. Griffin’s short-term investments are comprised of repurchase agreements with Webster Bank, N.A. (“Webster Bank”) that are collateralized with securities issued by the United States government or its sponsored agencies and are accounted for as held-to-maturity securities under FASB ASC 320, “Investments – Debt and Equity Securities” (“ASC 320”). The repurchase agreements are carried at their resell amounts, which approximates fair value due to their short-term nature. Interest on repurchase agreements is reflected as interest receivable that is included in other assets. As of February 29, 2020, Griffin was a party to several interest rate swap agreements to hedge its interest rate exposures. Griffin does not use derivatives for speculative purposes. Griffin applies FASB ASC 815-10, “Derivatives and Hedging,” (“ASC 815-10”) as amended, which establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments and hedging activities. ASC 815-10 requires Griffin to recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities on its consolidated balance sheet and measure those instruments at fair value. The changes in the fair values of the interest rate swap agreements are measured in accordance with ASC 815-10 and reflected in the carrying values of the interest rate swap agreements on Griffin’s consolidated balance sheet. The estimated fair values are based primarily on projected future swap rates. Griffin applies cash flow hedge accounting to its interest rate swap agreements that are designated as hedges of the variability of future cash flows from floating rate liabilities based on benchmark interest rates. The changes in the fair values of Griffin’s interest rate swap agreements are recorded as components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (“AOCI”) in stockholders’ equity to the extent they are effective. Any ineffective portions of the changes in the fair values of these instruments would be recorded as interest expense or interest income. The results of operations for the three months ended February 29, 2020 (the “2020 first quarter”) are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. The three months ended February 28, 2019 are referred to herein as the “2019 first quarter.” Certain amounts from the 2019 first quarter have been reclassified to conform to the current fiscal quarter’s presentation. Recent Accounting Pronouncements Adopted In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU” or “Update”) No. 2016-02, “Leases,” which establishes a right-of-use (“ROU”) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than twelve months. The accounting applied by lessors under ASU No. 2016-02 is largely unchanged from that applied under current U.S. GAAP. Leases are either classified as finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. ASU No. 2016-02 also requires significant additional disclosures about the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows from leases. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-10, “Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases,” which provides narrow amendments to clarify how to apply certain aspects of the new lease standard and ASU No. 2018-11, “Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements,” which provides an alternative transition method that permits an entity to use the effective date of ASU No. 2016-02 as the date of initial application through the recognition of a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings upon adoption. An entity’s reporting for the comparative periods presented in the financial statements in which it adopts the new lease standard will continue to be in accordance with current U.S. GAAP under FASB ASC Topic 840, “Leases.” In December 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-20, “Leases (Topic 842): Narrow Scope Improvements for Lessors,” which provides clarification on implementation issues associated with adopting ASU No. 2016-02. In March 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-01, “Leases (Topic 842): Codification Improvements,” which clarifies the determination of fair value of an underlying asset by lessors that are not manufacturers or dealers, presentation on the statement of cash flows for sales-type and direct financing leases and transition issues related to Topic 250, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections. Griffin used the modified retrospective method upon adoption of ASU No. 2016-02, ASU No. 2018-10, ASU No. 2018-11, ASU No. 2018-20 and ASU No. 2019-01 when they became effective for Griffin on December 1, 2019, and, therefore, Griffin did not restate any comparative periods. Upon adoption, Griffin elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance, which permits Griffin to not reassess its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. Griffin did not elect the practical expedient to use hindsight in determining the lease term and in assessing impairment of right-of-use assets. Griffin did elect the practical expedient pertaining to land easements that allows an entity to choose to not apply ASC 842 to certain existing land easements at transition. Griffin made an accounting policy election to keep leases with an initial term of twelve months or less off of the balance sheet. Griffin’s leases with its tenants were classified as operating leases under previous guidance and remained operating leases upon the adoption of ASC 842, therefore, as a lessor there was no significant impact upon adoption. As a lessee, Griffin has two operating leases that resulted in the recognition of ROU assets of $858 and lease liabilities of $858 related to Griffin’s executive office in New York City. The adoption of ASC 842 did not have a material impact on Griffin’s consolidated statements of operations or cash flows. In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities,” which is intended to improve the financial reporting for hedging relationships to better represent the economic results of a company’s risk management activities in its financial statements and make certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance. ASU No. 2017-12 makes more financial and nonfinancial hedging strategies eligible for hedge accounting, amends the presentation and disclosure requirements and changes how entities assess effectiveness. In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-04, “Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments,” which provides clarification on implementation issues associated with adopting ASU No. 2017-12. ASU No. 2017-12 and ASU No. 2019-04 each became effective for Griffin on December 1, 2019. The application of ASU No. 2017-12 and ASU No. 2019-04 did not have an impact on Griffin’s consolidated financial statements. In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. ASU No. 2018-07 simplifies the accounting for nonemployee share-based payments by aligning it more closely with the accounting for employee awards. ASU No. 2018-07 became effective for Griffin on December 1, 2019. The application of ASU No. 2018-07 did not have an impact on Griffin’s consolidated financial statements. In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-16, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Inclusion of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Overnight Index Swap (OIS) Rate as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes.” ASU No. 2018-16 permits the use of the Swap OIS Rate (“OIS Rate”) based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes under Topic 815 in addition to the interest rates on direct Treasury obligations of the U.S. government, the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and the OIS Rate based on the Federal Funds Effective Rate. The amendments in ASU No. 2018-16 were required to be adopted concurrently with the amendments in ASU No. 2017-12, therefore, ASU No. 2018-16 became effective for Griffin on December 1, 2019. The application of ASU No. 2018-16 did not have an impact on Griffin’s consolidated financial statements. Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” ASU No. 2018-13 removes, modifies and adds certain disclosure requirements in FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement” (“ASC 820”). The amendments on changes in unrealized gains and losses, the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements, and the narrative description of measurement uncertainty should be applied prospectively in the year of adoption. All other amendments should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented upon their effective date. ASU No. 2018-13 will become effective for Griffin in the fiscal year ending November 30, 2021 (“fiscal 2021”). Early adoption is permitted upon issuance for any removed or modified disclosures. Griffin does not expect the application of ASU No. 2018-13 to have an impact on its consolidated financial statements. There are various other Updates recently issued which represent technical corrections to the accounting literature or apply to specific industries. Griffin does not expect the application of any of these other Updates to have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc. ("Griffin") is a real estate business principally engaged in developing, acquiring, managing and leasing industrial/warehouse properties. Griffin seeks to add to its industrial/warehouse property portfolio through the acquisition and development of land or the purchase of buildings in select markets targeted by Griffin. Griffin also owns several office/flex properties and undeveloped land. Periodically, Griffin may sell certain of its real estate assets that it has owned for an extended time period and the use of which is not consistent with Griffin's core development and leasing strategy.

Griffin’s consolidated financial statements reflect its accounts and its consolidated subsidiaries. Griffin consolidates the subsidiaries it controls through (i) voting rights or similar rights or (ii) by means other than voting rights if Griffin is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). There are no VIEs in which Griffin is not a primary beneficiary.

Griffin may acquire property using a reverse like-kind exchange structure (a “Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange”) under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to defer taxable gains on the subsequent sale of real estate property. As such, the acquired property (the “Parked Property”) is in the possession of a qualified intermediary engaged to execute the Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange until the subsequent sale transaction and the Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange are completed. Griffin retains essentially all of the legal and economic benefits and obligations related to the Parked Property prior to the completion of the Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange. As such, a Parked Property is included in Griffin’s consolidated financial statements as a consolidated VIE until legal title is transferred to Griffin upon completion of the Reverse 1031 Like-Kind Exchange.

These financial statements have been prepared in conformity with the standards of accounting measurement set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 270, “Interim Reporting” and in accordance with the accounting policies stated in Griffin’s audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019 (“fiscal 2019”) included in Griffin’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 13, 2020. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements appearing in that report. All adjustments, comprising only normal recurring adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of results for the interim periods, have been reflected and all intercompany transactions have been eliminated. The consolidated balance sheet data as of November 30, 2019 was derived from Griffin’s audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses in the reporting period. Griffin regularly evaluates estimates and assumptions related to the useful life and recoverability of long-lived assets, stock-based compensation expense, deferred income tax asset valuations and the valuation of derivative instruments. Griffin bases its estimates and assumptions on current facts, historical experience and various other factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the accrual of costs and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. The actual results experienced by Griffin may differ materially and adversely from Griffin’s estimates. To the extent there are material differences between the estimates and the actual results, future results of operations will be affected.

Griffin considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. At February 29, 2020 and November 30, 2019, $7,138 and $4,299, respectively, of the cash and cash equivalents included on Griffin’s consolidated balance sheets were held in cash equivalents. Griffin’s short-term investments are comprised of repurchase agreements with Webster Bank, N.A. (“Webster Bank”) that are collateralized with securities issued by the United States government or its sponsored agencies and are accounted for as held-to-maturity securities under FASB ASC 320, “Investments – Debt and Equity Securities” (“ASC 320”). The repurchase agreements are carried at their resell amounts, which approximates fair value due to their short-term nature. Interest on repurchase agreements is reflected as interest receivable that is included in other assets.

As of February 29, 2020, Griffin was a party to several interest rate swap agreements to hedge its interest rate exposures. Griffin does not use derivatives for speculative purposes. Griffin applies FASB ASC 815-10, “Derivatives and Hedging,” (“ASC 815-10”) as amended, which establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments and hedging activities. ASC 815-10 requires Griffin to recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities on its consolidated balance sheet and measure those instruments at fair value. The changes in the fair values of the interest rate swap agreements are measured in accordance with ASC 815-10 and reflected in the carrying values of the interest rate swap agreements on Griffin’s consolidated balance sheet. The estimated fair values are based primarily on projected future swap rates.

Griffin applies cash flow hedge accounting to its interest rate swap agreements that are designated as hedges of the variability of future cash flows from floating rate liabilities based on benchmark interest rates. The changes in the fair values of Griffin’s interest rate swap agreements are recorded as components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (“AOCI”) in stockholders’ equity to the extent they are effective. Any ineffective portions of the changes in the fair values of these instruments would be recorded as interest expense or interest income.

The results of operations for the three months ended February 29, 2020 (the “2020 first quarter”) are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. The three months ended February 28, 2019 are referred to herein as the “2019 first quarter.” Certain amounts from the 2019 first quarter have been reclassified to conform to the current fiscal quarter’s presentation.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU” or “Update”) No. 2016-02, “Leases,” which establishes a right-of-use (“ROU”) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than twelve months. The accounting applied by lessors under ASU No. 2016-02 is largely unchanged from that applied under current U.S. GAAP. Leases are either classified as finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. ASU No. 2016-02 also requires significant additional disclosures about the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows from leases. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-10, “Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases,” which provides narrow amendments to clarify how to apply certain aspects of the new lease standard and ASU No. 2018-11, “Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements,” which provides an alternative transition method that permits an entity to use the effective date of ASU No. 2016-02 as the date of initial application through the recognition of a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings upon adoption. An entity’s reporting for the comparative periods presented in the financial statements in which it adopts the new lease standard will continue to be in accordance with current U.S. GAAP under FASB ASC Topic 840, “Leases.” In December 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-20, “Leases (Topic 842): Narrow Scope Improvements for Lessors,” which provides clarification on implementation issues associated with adopting ASU No. 2016-02. In March 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-01, “Leases (Topic 842): Codification Improvements,” which clarifies the determination of fair value of an underlying asset by lessors that are not manufacturers or dealers, presentation on the statement of cash flows for sales-type and direct financing leases and transition issues related to Topic 250, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections.

Griffin used the modified retrospective method upon adoption of ASU No. 2016-02, ASU No. 2018-10, ASU No. 2018-11, ASU No. 2018-20 and ASU No. 2019-01 when they became effective for Griffin on December 1, 2019, and, therefore, Griffin did not restate any comparative periods. Upon adoption, Griffin elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance, which permits Griffin to not reassess its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. Griffin did not elect the practical expedient to use hindsight in determining the lease term and in assessing impairment of right-of-use assets. Griffin did elect the practical expedient pertaining to land easements that allows an entity to choose to not apply ASC 842 to certain existing land easements at transition. Griffin made an accounting policy election to keep leases with an initial term of twelve months or less off of the balance sheet. Griffin’s leases with its tenants were classified as operating leases under previous guidance and remained operating leases upon the adoption of ASC 842, therefore, as a lessor there was no significant impact upon adoption. As a lessee, Griffin has two operating leases that resulted in the recognition of ROU assets of $858 and lease liabilities of $858 related to Griffin’s executive office in New York City. The adoption of ASC 842 did not have a material impact on Griffin’s consolidated statements of operations or cash flows.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities,” which is intended to improve the financial reporting for hedging relationships to better represent the economic results of a company’s risk management activities in its financial statements and make certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance. ASU No. 2017-12 makes more financial and nonfinancial hedging strategies eligible for hedge accounting, amends the presentation and disclosure requirements and changes how entities assess effectiveness. In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-04, “Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments,” which provides clarification on implementation issues associated with adopting ASU No. 2017-12. ASU No. 2017-12 and ASU No. 2019-04 each became effective for Griffin on December 1, 2019. The application of ASU No. 2017-12 and ASU No. 2019-04 did not have an impact on Griffin’s consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. ASU No. 2018-07 simplifies the accounting for nonemployee share-based payments by aligning it more closely with the accounting for employee awards. ASU No. 2018-07 became effective for Griffin on December 1, 2019. The application of ASU No. 2018-07 did not have an impact on Griffin’s consolidated financial statements.

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-16, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Inclusion of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Overnight Index Swap (OIS) Rate as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes.” ASU No. 2018-16 permits the use of the Swap OIS Rate (“OIS Rate”) based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes under Topic 815 in addition to the interest rates on direct Treasury obligations of the U.S. government, the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and the OIS Rate based on the Federal Funds Effective Rate. The amendments in ASU No. 2018-16 were required to be adopted concurrently with the amendments in ASU No. 2017-12, therefore, ASU No. 2018-16 became effective for Griffin on December 1, 2019. The application of ASU No. 2018-16 did not have an impact on Griffin’s consolidated financial statements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” ASU No. 2018-13 removes, modifies and adds certain disclosure requirements in FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement” (“ASC 820”). The amendments on changes in unrealized gains and losses, the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements, and the narrative description of measurement uncertainty should be applied prospectively in the year of adoption. All other amendments should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented upon their effective date. ASU No. 2018-13 will become effective for Griffin in the fiscal year ending November 30, 2021 (“fiscal 2021”). Early adoption is permitted upon issuance for any removed or modified disclosures. Griffin does not expect the application of ASU No. 2018-13 to have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.

There are various other Updates recently issued which represent technical corrections to the accounting literature or apply to specific industries. Griffin does not expect the application of any of these other Updates to have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.