SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Business and Organization

Business and Organization

American Assets Trust, Inc. (which may be referred to in these financial statements as the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a Maryland corporation formed on July 16, 2010 that did not have any operating activity until the consummation of our initial public offering on January 19, 2011. The Company is the sole general partner of American Assets Trust, L.P., a Maryland limited partnership formed on July 16, 2010 (the “Operating Partnership”). The Company’s operations are carried on through our Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries, including our taxable real estate investment trust ("REIT") subsidiary ("TRS"). Since the formation of our Operating Partnership, the Company has controlled our Operating Partnership as its general partner and has consolidated its assets, liabilities and results of operations.

We are a full service vertically integrated and self-administered REIT with approximately 120 employees providing substantial in-house expertise in asset management, property management, property development, leasing, tenant improvement construction, acquisitions, repositioning, redevelopment and financing.

As of March 31, 2014, we owned or had a controlling interest in 23 office, retail, multifamily and mixed-use operating properties, the operations of which we consolidate. Additionally, as of March 31, 2014, we owned land at five of our properties that we classify as held for development and/or construction in progress. A summary of the properties owned by us is as follows:

Retail
Carmel Country Plaza	Del Monte Center
Carmel Mountain Plaza	Geary Marketplace
South Bay Marketplace	The Shops at Kalakaua
Rancho Carmel Plaza	Waikele Center
Lomas Santa Fe Plaza	Alamo Quarry Market
Solana Beach Towne Centre

Office
Torrey Reserve Campus	Lloyd District Portfolio
Solana Beach Corporate Centre	City Center Bellevue
The Landmark at One Market
One Beach Street
First & Main

Multifamily

Loma Palisades

Imperial Beach Gardens

Mariner's Point

Santa Fe Park RV Resort

Mixed-Use

Waikiki Beach Walk Retail and Embassy Suites™ Hotel

Held for Development and Construction in Progress

Solana Beach Corporate Centre – Land

Solana Beach – Highway 101 – Land

Sorrento Pointe – Land

Torrey Reserve – Land

Lloyd District Portfolio – Land

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

Our consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, our Operating Partnership and our subsidiaries. The equity interests of other investors in our Operating Partnership are reflected as noncontrolling interests.

All significant intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with the rules applicable to Form 10-Q and include all information and footnotes required for interim financial statement presentation, but do not include all disclosures required under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for annual financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments, except as otherwise noted) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes therein included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that in certain circumstances affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and revenues and expenses. These estimates are prepared using our best judgment, after considering past, current and expected events and economic conditions. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Any reference to the number of properties and square footage are unaudited and outside the scope of our independent registered public accounting firm’s review of our financial statements in accordance with the standards of the United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Significant Accounting Policies

Significant Accounting Policies

We describe our significant accounting policies in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. There have been no changes to our significant accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2014.

Segment Information

Segment Information

Segment information is prepared on the same basis that our management reviews information for operational decision-making purposes. We operate in four business segments: the acquisition, redevelopment, ownership and management of retail real estate, office real estate, multifamily real estate and mixed-use real estate. The products for our retail segment primarily include rental of retail space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental. The products for our office segment primarily include rental of office space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental. The products for our multifamily segment include rental of apartments and other tenant services. The products of our mixed-use segment include rental of retail space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental and operation of a 369-room all-suite hotel.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the "FASB") issued ASU 2013-2, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reporting Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. ASU 2013-2 requires entities to disclose certain information relating to amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income. This pronouncement became effective for us in the first quarter of 2013 and did not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Fair Value Measurements

A fair value measurement is based on the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. The hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value is as follows:

1. Level 1 Inputs—quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

2. Level 2 Inputs—observable inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities

3. Level 3 Inputs—unobservable inputs

Except as disclosed below, the carrying amounts of our financial instruments approximate their fair value. The financial liability whose fair value we measure on a recurring basis using Level 2 inputs is our deferred compensation liability included in other liabilities and deferred credits on the consolidated balance sheet. We measure the fair value of this liability based on prices provided by independent market participants that are based on observable inputs using market-based valuation techniques.

In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the level within which the fair value measurement is categorized is based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.