ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND PRONOUNCEMENTS (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Accounting Policies and Pronouncements

The following is a summary of recently issued and other notable accounting pronouncements which relate to the Company's business.

In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments. The amendments in this update provide clarification on certain aspects of the amendments in ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging, and ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall. The effective date of the standard is for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-13 may have on its consolidated financial statements. The Company does not expect the amendments in this ASU to ASU 2017-12 and ASU 2016-01 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-17, Consolidation (Topic 810): Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities. This standard is intended to improve the accounting when considering indirect interests held through related parties under common control for determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers are variable interests. The effective date of the standard is for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019. The new standard must be adopted retrospectively with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2018-17 may have on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract. This standard is intended to align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal use software license). The standard requires an entity in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract to follow the guidance in Subtopic 350-40 to determine which implementation costs to capitalize as an asset related to the service contract and which costs to expense. This standard also requires the entity to expense the capitalized implementation costs of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract over the term of the hosting arrangement. The effective date of the standard is for fiscal periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019. The new standard may be adopted prospectively or retrospectively with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement that eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The effective date of the standard is for fiscal periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019. 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. All other amendments should be applied retrospectively. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2018-13 may have on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350). This standard is intended to simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating step two from the goodwill impairment test. In computing the implied fair value of goodwill under step two, an entity determined the fair value at the impairment testing date of its assets and liabilities, including unrecognized assets and liabilities, following the procedure that would be required in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Instead, an entity will perform only step one of its quantitative goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount and then recognizing the impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit's fair value. An entity will still have the option to perform a qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative step one impairment test is necessary. The effective date of the standard is for fiscal periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019. The new standard must be adopted prospectively with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses. The standard modifies the impairment model for most financial assets, including trade accounts receivables and loans, and will require the use of an “expected loss” model for instruments measured at amortized cost. Under this model, entities will be required to estimate the lifetime expected credit loss

on such instruments and record an allowance to offset the amortized cost basis of the financial asset, resulting in a net presentation of the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. The effective date of the standard is for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Financial assets held by the Company primarily relate to receivables from Special Improvement District ("SID") bonds and Municipal Utility District ("MUD") receivables. These receivables relate to contractually specified reimbursable costs incurred by the Company for infrastructure improvements within the respective district. Reimbursement for these costs is financed through bond offerings of the local municipality. Application of ASU 2016-13 may result in the Company recognizing credit losses at an earlier date than they would otherwise be recognized under current accounting guidance. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-13 may have on its consolidated financial statements.

The New Leases Standard and related policy updates

As discussed in Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Organization, as of the Adoption Date of the New Leases Standard, the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities is required on the balance sheet. The Company determines whether an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in Operating lease right-of-use assets, net and Operating lease obligations on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Right-of-use assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company's obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of future minimum lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company's leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses an estimate of the incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of future lease payments. The Operating lease right-of-use asset also includes any lease payments made, less any lease incentives and initial direct costs incurred. The Company recorded $70.3 million in Operating lease right-of-use assets, net and $71.2 million in Operating lease obligations on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company does not have any finance leases as of September 30, 2019.

The Company’s lessee agreements consist of operating leases primarily for ground leases and other real estate. The Company’s leases have remaining lease terms of less than one year to 54 years. Most leases include one or more options to renew, with renewal terms that can extend the lease term from two to 40 years, and some of which may include options to terminate the leases within one year. The Company considers its strategic plan and the life of associated agreements in determining when options to extend or terminate lease terms are reasonably certain of being exercised. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet; the Company recognizes lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Certain of the Company’s lease agreements include variable lease payments based on a percentage of income generated through subleases, changes in price indices and market rates, and other costs arising from operating, maintenance, and taxes. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants. The Company leases certain buildings and office space constructed on its ground leases to third parties.