2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Boston Properties, Inc. does not have any other significant assets, liabilities or operations, other than its investment in Boston Properties Limited Partnership, nor does it have employees of its own. Boston Properties Limited Partnership, not Boston Properties, Inc., generally executes all significant business relationships other than transactions involving securities of Boston Properties, Inc. All majority-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures over which the Company has financial and operating control and variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in which the Company has determined it is the primary beneficiary are included in the consolidated financial statements. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company accounts for all other unconsolidated joint ventures using the equity method of accounting. Accordingly, the Company’s share of the earnings of these joint ventures and companies is included in consolidated net income.

The accompanying interim financial statements are unaudited; however, the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and in conjunction with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, they do not include all of the disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting solely of normal recurring matters) necessary for a fair statement of the financial statements for these interim periods have been included. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be obtained for other interim periods or for the full fiscal year. The year-end consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosure required by GAAP. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Annual Report in the Company’s Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. Beginning on January 1, 2016, the properties that were historically part of the Company’s Office/Technical segment are reflected as Office properties (See Note 12).

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company determines the fair value of its unsecured senior notes using market prices. The inputs used in determining the fair value of the Company’s unsecured senior notes are categorized at a level 1 basis (as defined in the accounting standards for Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures) due to the fact that the Company uses quoted market rates to value these instruments. However, the inputs used in determining the fair value could be categorized at a level 2 basis (as defined in the accounting standards for Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures) if trading volumes are low. The Company determines the fair value of its mortgage notes payable using discounted cash flow analysis by discounting the spread between the future contractual interest payments and hypothetical future interest payments on mortgage debt based on current market rates for similar securities. In determining the current market rates, the Company adds its estimates of market spreads to the quoted yields on federal government treasury securities with similar maturity dates to its debt. The inputs used in determining the fair value of the Company’s mortgage notes payable and mezzanine notes payable are categorized at a level 3 basis (as defined in the accounting standards for Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures) due to the fact that the Company considers the rates used in the valuation techniques to be unobservable inputs.

Because the Company’s valuations of its financial instruments are based on these types of estimates, the actual fair values of its financial instruments may differ materially if the Company’s estimates do not prove to be accurate. The following table presents the aggregate carrying value of the Company’s indebtedness and the Company’s corresponding estimate of fair value as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 (in thousands):



	March 31, 2016				December 31, 2015
	Carrying Amount		Estimated Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Estimated Fair Value
Mortgage notes payable, net	$	3,416,622	$	3,477,310	$	3,435,242	$	3,503,746
Mezzanine notes payable	308,142		306,089		308,482		306,103
Unsecured senior notes, net	6,255,602		6,705,353		5,264,819		5,547,738
Total	$	9,980,366	$	10,488,752	$	9,008,543	$	9,357,587

The Company uses interest rate swap agreements to manage its interest rate risk. The valuation of these instruments is determined using widely accepted valuation techniques including discounted cash flow analysis on the expected cash flows of each derivative. This analysis reflects the contractual terms of the derivatives, including the period to maturity, and uses observable market-based inputs, including interest rate curves. To comply with the provisions of ASC 820, the Company incorporates credit valuation adjustments to appropriately reflect both its own nonperformance risk and the respective counterparty’s nonperformance risk in the fair value measurements. Although the Company has determined that the majority of the inputs used to value its derivatives fall within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, the credit valuation adjustments associated with its derivatives utilize Level 3 inputs, such as estimates of current credit spreads to evaluate the likelihood of default by the Company and its counterparties. However, as of March 31, 2016, the Company has assessed the significance of the impact of the credit valuation adjustments on the overall valuation of its derivative positions and has determined that the credit valuation adjustments are not significant to the overall valuation of its derivatives. As a result, the Company has determined that its derivative valuations in their entirety are classified in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

Variable Interest Entities (VIEs)

On January 1, 2016, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) ASU 2015-02, “Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis” (“ASU 2015-02”). ASU 2015-02 affects reporting entities that are required to evaluate whether they should consolidate certain legal entities. ASU 2015-02 (1) modifies the evaluation of whether limited partnerships and similar legal entities are VIEs or voting interest entities, (2) eliminates the presumption that a general partner should consolidate a limited partnership and (3) affects the consolidation analysis of reporting entities that are involved with VIEs, particularly those that have fee arrangements and related party relationships. The Company reviewed all of their legal entities in accordance with ASU 2015-02 and concluded that certain of its legal entities, including Boston Properties Limited Partnership, which had been consolidated in accordance with the voting interest model are now variable interest entities under the VIE model, as discussed below. The adoption of the guidance did not alter any of the Company’s consolidation conclusions, but resulted in additional disclosures.

Consolidated VIEs are those where the Company is considered to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE. The primary beneficiary is the entity that has a controlling financial interest in the VIE, which is defined by the entity having both of the following characteristics: 1) the power to direct the activities that, when taken together, most significantly impact the VIE’s performance and 2) the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive the returns from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The Company has determined that is it the primary beneficiary for seven of the eight entities which are VIEs.

Consolidated Variable Interest Entities

As of March 31, 2016, Boston Properties, Inc. has identified seven consolidated VIEs, including Boston Properties Limited Partnership. These are the entities which own the following in-service properties: 767 Fifth Avenue (the General Motors Building), Time Square Tower, 601 Lexington Avenue, Atlantic Wharf Office Building and 100 Federal Street, the entity that owns the Salesforce Tower which is currently under development and Boston Properties Limited Partnership.

The Company consolidates these VIEs as it is the primary beneficiary. The third parties’ interests in these consolidated entities, with the exception of Boston Properties Limited Partnership, are reflected as noncontrolling interest in property partnerships in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements (See Note 8).

In addition, Boston Properties, Inc.’s significant asset is its investment in Boston Properties Limited Partnership, and consequently, substantially all of Boston Properties, Inc.’s assets and liabilities represent the assets and liabilities of Boston Properties Limited Partnership. All of Boston Properties, Inc.’s debt is an obligation of Boston Properties Limited Partnership.

Variable Interest Entities Not Consolidated

The Company has determined that its BNY Tower Holdings LLC joint venture is a VIE. The Company does not consolidate this entity as the Company does not have the power to direct the activities that, when taken together, most significantly impact the VIE’s performance and therefore, the Company is not considered to be the primary beneficiary.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contract with Customers (Topic 606)” (“ASU 2014-09”). The objective of ASU 2014-09 is to establish a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and will supersede most of the existing revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The core principle is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In applying ASU 2014-09, companies will perform a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. ASU 2014-09 applies to all contracts with customers except those that are within the scope of other topics in the FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date (“ASU 2015-14”), which delayed the effective date of ASU 2014-09 by one year making it effective for the first interim period within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted as of the original effective date. The Company is currently assessing the potential impact that the adoption of ASU 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, “Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs” (“ASU 2015-03”), which requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs is not affected. ASU 2015-03 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years and shall be applied on a retrospective basis, wherein the balance sheet of each individual period presented should be adjusted to reflect the period-specific effects of applying the new guidance. Early adoption is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. On January 1, 2016, the Company adopted ASU 2015-03 and retrospectively applied the guidance to its Mortgage Notes Payable and Unsecured Senior Notes for all periods presented. Unamortized deferred financing costs, which were previously included in Deferred Charges, Net, totaling approximately $3.2 million and $31.3 million are included in Mortgage Notes Payable, Net and Unsecured Senior Notes, Net, respectively, as of March 31, 2016 and approximately $3.5 million and $24.5 million are included in Mortgage Notes Payable, Net and Unsecured Senior Notes, Net, respectively, as of December 31, 2015.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, “Financial Instruments – Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities” (“ASU 2016-01”). ASU 2016-01 requires equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting, or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income, requires public business entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes, requires separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset, and eliminates the requirement for public business entities to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost. ASU 2016-01 is effective for the Company for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early application is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the potential impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-01 will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases” (“ASU 2016-02”), which sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases for both parties to a contract (i.e. lessees and lessors). ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either finance or operating leases based on the principle of whether or not the lease is effectively a financed purchase of the leased asset by the lessee. This classification will determine whether the lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. A lessee is also required to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term of greater than 12 months regardless of their classification. Leases with a term of 12 months or less will be accounted for similar to existing guidance for operating leases today. The new standard requires lessors to account for leases using an approach that is substantially equivalent to existing guidance for sales-type leases, direct financing leases and operating leases. ASU 2016-02 is expected to impact the Company’s consolidated financial statements as the Company has certain operating land lease arrangements for which it is the lessee. ASU 2016-02 supersedes previous leasing standards. ASU 2016-02 is effective for the Company for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the potential impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-02 will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-05, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Effect of Derivative Contract Novations on Existing Hedge Accounting Relationships” (“ASU 2016-05”) which provides guidance clarifying that a novation of party to a derivative instrument, whereby one of the parties to a derivative instrument is replaced with another party, does not, in and of itself, require de-designation of that hedging relationship provided that all other hedge criteria continue to be met. ASU 2016-05 is effective for the Company for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the potential impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-05 will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, “Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting” (“ASU 2016-09”). ASU 2016-09 is intended to improve the accounting for share-based payments and affects all organizations that issue share-based payment awards to their employees. Several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment awards are simplified with ASU 2016-09, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-09 is effective for the Company for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the potential impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements.