Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Description of Business: Cousins Properties Incorporated (“Cousins”), a Georgia corporation, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (“REIT”). Cousins conducts substantially all of its business through Cousins Properties, LP ("CPLP"). Cousins owns in excess of 99% of CPLP and consolidates CPLP. CPLP wholly owns Cousins TRS Services LLC ("CTRS") a taxable entity which owns and manages its own real estate portfolio and performs certain real estate related services for other parties.

Cousins, CPLP, CTRS, and their subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) develop, acquire, lease, manage, and own primarily Class A office properties and opportunistic mixed-use developments in the Sun Belt markets of the United States with a focus on Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Phoenix, Tampa, and Dallas. Cousins has elected to be taxed as a REIT and intends to, among other things, distribute at least 100% of its net taxable income to stockholders, thereby eliminating any liability for federal income taxes under current law. Therefore, the results included herein do not include a federal income tax provision for Cousins. As of December 31, 2020, the Company’s portfolio of real estate assets consisted of interests in 19.7 million square feet of office space and 310,000 square feet of mixed-use space.

Basis of Presentation: The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its consolidated partnerships and wholly-owned subsidiaries. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company presents its financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) as outlined in the Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Codification (the “Codification” or “ASC”). The Codification is the single source of authoritative accounting principles applied by nongovernmental entities in the preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP.

On June 14, 2019, the Company restated and amended its articles of incorporation to effect a reverse stock split of the issued and outstanding shares of its common and preferred stock pursuant to which (1) each four shares of the Company's issued and outstanding common stock were combined into one share of the Company's common or preferred stock, respectively, and (2) the authorized number of the Company's common stock was proportionally reduced to 175 million shares. Fractional shares of common stock resulting from the reverse stock split were settled in cash. Preferred stock was redeemed with each four shares combined into one share; fractional shares of preferred stock were redeemed without payout. Immediately thereafter, the Company further amended its articles of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of its common stock from 175 million to 300 million shares. All shares of common stock, stock options, restricted stock units, and per share information presented in the consolidated financial statements have been adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split on a retroactive basis for all periods presented.

For the three years ended December 31, 2020, there were no items of other comprehensive income. Therefore, the Company did not present comprehensive income. Additionally, certain subtotals within the consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018 were removed to conform to the current period presentation.

On January 1, 2019, the Company began recording lease termination fees in rental property revenues on the consolidated statements of operations as a result of the adoption of Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016-02, "Leases," ("ASC 842"). The prior period amounts, which were included in other revenues, were reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

The Company evaluates all partnerships, joint ventures, and other arrangements with variable interests to determine if the entity or arrangement qualifies as a variable interest entity (“VIE”), as defined in the Codification. If the entity or arrangement qualifies as a VIE and the Company is determined to be the primary beneficiary, the Company is required to consolidate the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of the VIE.

In 2020, the Company transferred the right to purchase a building to a special purpose entity to facilitate a potential reverse Section 1031 exchange under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), and the special purpose entity purchased the building and retained the assets acquired therefrom. To realize the tax deferral available under Section 1031 exchange, the Company must identify the like-kind property to be disposed of within 45 days of the acquisition date and complete the transfer of the title to the to-be-exchanged building within 180 days of the acquisition date. We concluded that Cousins has a controlling financial interest and is, therefore, the primary beneficiary of the venture. The Company consolidates this VIE entity. As of December 31, 2020, this VIE had total assets of $210.2 million and total liabilities of $209.7 million. The liabilities of this VIE eliminate in our consolidated balance sheet.