Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements of Piedmont are prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X, and do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the statements for the unaudited interim periods presented include all adjustments, which are of a normal and recurring nature, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for such periods. Results for these interim periods are not necessarily indicative of a full year’s results.

Piedmont’s consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Piedmont, Piedmont’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, any variable interest entity ("VIE") of which Piedmont or any of its wholly-owned subsidiaries is considered to have the power to direct the activities of the entity and the obligation to absorb losses/right to receive benefits, or any entity in which Piedmont or any of its wholly-owned subsidiaries owns a controlling interest. In determining whether Piedmont or Piedmont OP has a controlling interest, the following factors, among others, are considered: equity ownership, voting rights, protective rights of investors, and participatory rights of investors. For further information, refer to the financial statements and footnotes included in Piedmont’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation.

Further, Piedmont has formed special purpose entities to acquire and hold real estate. Each special purpose entity is a separate legal entity. Consequently, the assets of these special purpose entities are not available to all creditors of Piedmont. The assets owned by these special purpose entities are being reported on a consolidated basis with Piedmont’s assets for financial reporting purposes only.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes. The most significant of these estimates include the underlying cash flows and holding periods used in assessing impairment, judgements regarding the recoverability of goodwill, and the assessment of the collectability of receivables. While Piedmont has made, what it believes to be, appropriate accounting estimates based on the facts and circumstances available as of the reporting date, actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

Income Taxes

Piedmont has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and has operated as such, beginning with its taxable year ended December 31, 1998. To qualify as a REIT, Piedmont must meet certain organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement to distribute at least 90% of its annual REIT taxable income. As a REIT, Piedmont is generally not subject to federal income taxes, subject to fulfilling, among other things, its taxable income distribution requirement. Piedmont is subject to certain taxes related to the operations of properties in certain locations, as well as operations conducted by its taxable REIT subsidiary which have been provided for in the financial statements.

Operating Leases

Piedmont recognized the following fixed and variable lease payments, which together comprised rental and tenant reimbursement revenue in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, as follows (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended
		March 31, 2023		March 31, 2022
Fixed payments		$	112,560	$	109,732
Variable payments		24,269		22,180
Total Rental and Tenant Reimbursement Revenue		$	136,829	$	131,912

Operating leases where Piedmont is the lessee relate primarily to office space in buildings owned by third parties. Piedmont's right of use asset and corresponding lease liability was approximately $0.1 million and $0.2 million as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. The right of use asset is recorded as a component of prepaid expenses and other assets, whereas the corresponding liability is presented as a component of accounts payable, accrued expenses, and accrued capital expenditures in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. For both the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, Piedmont recognized approximately $20,000, respectively, of operating lease costs related to these office space leases. As of March 31, 2023, the remaining lease term of Piedmont's right of use asset is approximately 2 years, and the discount rate is 3.86%.