2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Set forth below is a summary of the significant accounting estimates and policies that management believes are important to the preparation of our consolidated interim financial statements. Certain of our accounting estimates are particularly important for an understanding of our financial position and results of operations and require the application of significant judgment by management. For example, significant estimates and assumptions have been made with respect to the useful lives of assets, recoverable amounts of receivables, and other fair value measurement assessments required for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements. As a result, these estimates are subject to a degree of uncertainty.

During the first quarter of 2020, a novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) began spreading globally, with the outbreak being classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Because of the adverse economic conditions that exist as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that the estimates and assumptions that have been utilized in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements could change significantly. Specifically as it relates to our business, the current economic situation resulted in temporary tenant closures at our shopping centers, often as a result of “stay-at-home” government mandates which limited travel and movement of the general public to essential activities only and required all non-essential businesses to close.

Temporary closures of tenant spaces at our centers peaked in April and have significantly decreased as states have reduced or removed restrictions on business operations and the travel and movement of the general public. Certain tenants remain temporarily closed, have since closed after reopening, are limiting the number of customers allowed in their locations, or have modified their operations in other ways that may impact their profitability, either as a result of government mandates or self-elected efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Some states and localities have temporarily reinstated certain mandates in response to increasing reported cases of COVID-19. These actions could result in increased permanent store closings and could reduce the demand for leasing space in our shopping centers and result in a decline in occupancy and rental revenues in our real estate portfolio. All of this activity impacts our estimates around the collectability of revenue and valuation of real estate assets, goodwill and other intangible assets, and certain liabilities, among others.

There were no changes to our significant accounting policies during the six months ended June 30, 2020. For a full summary of our accounting policies, refer to our 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 11, 2020.

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation—The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Readers of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should refer to our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, which are included in our 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K. In the opinion of management, all normal and recurring adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the unaudited consolidated financial statements for the periods presented have been included in this Quarterly Report. Our results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results expected for the full year.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include our accounts and those of our majority-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated upon consolidation.

Leases—Lease receivables are reviewed continually to determine whether or not it is probable that we will realize all amounts owed to us for each of our tenants (i.e., whether a tenant is deemed to be a credit risk). If we determine that the tenant is not a credit risk, no reserve or reduction of revenue is recorded, except in the case of disputed charges. If we determine that the tenant is a credit risk, revenue for that tenant is recorded on a cash basis, including any amounts relating to straight-line rent receivables and/or receivables for recoverable expenses. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the uncertainty of collecting rents from a number of our tenants. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, we had $12.0 million and $14.8 million, respectively, in revenue that will not be recognized until cash is collected or the tenant resumes payment and is considered creditworthy.

In our efforts to maximize collections in the near term while also supporting our tenants as they operate through this pandemic, we have begun negotiating rent relief primarily in the form of payment plans and deferrals on rent and recovery charges, which allow for changes in the timing of payments, but not the total amount of consideration due to us under the lease. In a limited number of instances, we may also agree to waive certain charges due to us under the lease. During the three months ended June 30, 2020, our negotiated rent relief was minimal.

Income Taxes—Our consolidated financial statements include the operations of wholly owned subsidiaries that have jointly elected to be treated as Taxable REIT Subsidiaries and are subject to U.S. federal, state, and local income taxes at regular corporate tax rates. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, an insignificant amount of federal income tax benefit was reported, and we recorded a full valuation allowance for our net deferred tax asset. We recorded no income tax expense or benefit for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019. We recognized an insignificant amount of state and local income tax expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. All income tax amounts are included in Other (Expense) Income, Net on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss (“consolidated statements of operations”).

Recently Issued and Newly Adopted Accounting Pronouncements—In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued interpretive guidance addressing the accounting treatment for lease concessions attributable to the pandemic. Under this guidance, entities may elect to account for such lease concessions consistent with how they would be accounted for under ASC Topic 842, Leases, (“ASC 842”) if the enforceable rights and obligations for the lease concessions already existed within the lease agreement, regardless of whether such enforceable rights and obligations are explicitly outlined within the lease. This accounting treatment may only be applied if (1) the lease concessions were granted as a direct result of the pandemic, and (2) the total cash flows under the modified lease are less than or substantially the same as the cash flows under the original lease agreement. As a result, entities that make this election will not have to analyze each lease to determine whether enforceable rights and obligations for concessions exist within the contract, and may elect not to account for these concessions as lease modifications within the scope of ASC 842.

Some concessions will provide a deferral of payments, which may affect the timing of cash receipts without substantively impacting the total consideration per the original lease agreement. The FASB has stated that there are multiple acceptable methods to account for deferrals under the interpretive guidance:


•	Account for the concession as if no changes to the lease contract were made, increasing the lease receivable as payments accrue and continuing to recognize income; or


•	Account for deferred lease payments as variable lease payments.

We have elected not to account for any qualifying lease concessions granted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as lease modifications and will account for any qualifying concessions granted as if no changes to the lease contract were made. This will result in an increase to the related lease receivable as payments accrue while we continue to recognize rental income. We will, however, assess the impact of any such concessions on estimated collectability of the related lease payments and will reflect any adjustments as necessary as an offset to Rental Income on the consolidated statements of operations.

The following table provides a brief description of newly adopted accounting pronouncements and their effect on our consolidated financial statements:



Standard	Description	Date of Adoption	Effect on the Financial Statements or Other Significant Matters
Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments ASU 2018-19, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Codification Improvements ASU 2019-05, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Targeted Transition Relief ASU 2019-11, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses ASU 2020-02, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326) and Leases (Topic 842)	The amendments in this update replaced the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. It clarified that receivables arising from operating leases are not within the scope of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 326. Instead, impairment of receivables arising from operating leases will be accounted for in accordance with Topic 842. It also allowed election of the fair value option on certain financial instruments.	January 1, 2020	The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. The majority of our financial instruments result from operating lease transactions, which are not within the scope of this standard.
ASU 2018-17, Consolidation (Topic 810): Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities	This ASU amended two aspects of the related-party guidance in Topic 810: (1) added an elective private-company scope exception to the variable interest entity guidance for entities under common control and (2) indirect interests held through related parties in common control arrangements will be considered on a proportional basis for determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers are variable interests.	January 1, 2020	The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
ASU 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments	This ASU amended a variety of topics, improving certain aspects of previously issued ASUs, including ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, and ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities.	January 1, 2020	The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting	This ASU contains practical expedients for reference rate reform related activities that impact debt, leases, derivatives and other contracts. The guidance in ASU 2020-04 is optional and may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur.	March 12, 2020	We have elected to apply the hedge accounting expedients related to probability and the assessments of effectiveness for future LIBOR-indexed cash flows to assume that the index upon which future hedged transactions will be based matches the index on the corresponding derivatives. Application of these expedients preserves the presentation of derivatives consistent with past presentation. We continue to evaluate the impact of the guidance and may apply other elections as applicable as additional changes in the market occur.

Reclassifications—The following line item on our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019 was reclassified to conform to current year presentation:


•	Corporate Intangible Assets, Net was included in Other Assets, Net.

The following line items on our consolidated statement of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2019 were reclassified to conform to current year presentation:


•	Amortization of Debt and Derivative Adjustments was listed on a separate line from Other Cash Flows from Operating Activities; and


•	Equity in Net Loss of Unconsolidated Joint Ventures was included in Other Cash Flows from Operating Activities.