RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

EastGroup has evaluated all ASUs recently released by the FASB through the date the financial statements were issued and determined that the following ASUs apply to the Company.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), and in subsequent periods, issued ASU 2018-10, 2018-11, and 2018-20, all of which relate to the new lease accounting guidance. The Company adopted the new lease accounting guidance effective January 1, 2019, and has applied its provisions on a prospective basis. The following changes are applicable to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations:

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Lessees are required to recognize the following for all leases (with the exception of short-term leases) at the commencement date: (1) a lease liability, which is a lessee’s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis; and (2) a right of use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. The Company is a lessee on a limited number of leases, including office and ground leases. As of January 1, 2019, the Company recorded its right of use asset and lease liability values for its operating leases as follows: office leases of $2,376,000 and ground leases of $10,226,000. During the three months ended June 30, 2019, the Company entered into new operating leases, resulting in the recording of the following right of use assets and lease liabilities: office leases of $155,000 and ground leases of $2,679,000. The combined values are less than 1% of the Company’s Total assets as of September 30, 2019.


•	Lessor accounting is largely unchanged under ASU 2016-02. The Company’s primary revenue is rental income; as such, the Company is a lessor on a significant number of leases. The Company is continuing to account for its leases in substantially the same manner. The most significant changes for the Company related to lessor accounting include:

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The new standard’s narrow definition of initial direct costs for leases — The new definition of initial direct costs results in certain costs (primarily legal costs related to lease negotiations) being expensed rather than capitalized upon adoption of the new standard. EastGroup recorded Indirect leasing costs of $110,000 and $306,000 on the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019.


◦	The guidance applicable to recording uncollectible rents — Upon adoption of the lease accounting guidance, reserves for uncollectible accounts are recorded as a reduction to revenue. Prior to adoption, reserves for uncollectible accounts were recorded as bad debt expenses. The standard also provides guidance related to calculating the reserves; however, those changes did not impact the Company.


•	EastGroup has elected the practical expedient permitting lessors and lessees to make an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset to not separate non-lease components (such as common area maintenance) of a contract from the lease component to which they relate when specific criteria are met. The Company believes its leases meet the criteria.

The Company has applied the provisions of the new lease accounting standard and provided the required disclosures in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The ASU is intended to better align a company’s financial reporting for hedging activities with the economic objectives of those activities. The transition method is a modified retrospective approach that requires companies to recognize the cumulative effect of initially applying the ASU as an adjustment to Accumulated other comprehensive income with a corresponding adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings as of the beginning of the fiscal year the entity adopts the ASU. The primary provision in the ASU that will require an adjustment to beginning retained earnings is the change in timing and income statement presentation for ineffectiveness related to cash flow and net investment hedges. As a result of the transition guidance in the ASU, cumulative ineffectiveness that has previously been recognized on cash flow and net investment hedges that are still outstanding and designated as of the date of adoption will be adjusted and removed from beginning retained earnings and placed in Accumulated other comprehensive income. The Company adopted ASU 2017-12 on January 1, 2019; the adoption of ASU 2017-12 did not have a material impact on its financial condition, results of operations or disclosures.

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-16, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Inclusion of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Overnight Index Swap (OIS) Rate as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes. The ASU applies to all entities that elect to apply hedge accounting to benchmark interest rates under Topic 815 and permits the use of the OIS rate based on SOFR as a United States (U.S.) benchmark rate for hedge accounting purposes under Topic 815 in addition to the interest rates on direct Treasury obligations of the U.S. government, the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) swap rate, the OIS rate based on the Fed Funds Effective Rate, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) Municipal Swap Rate. ASU 2018-16 was effective upon adoption of ASU 2017-12. The Company adopted ASU 2017-12 and ASU 2018-16 on January 1, 2019, and the adoption of both ASUs did not have a material impact on its financial condition, results of operation or disclosures.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, and subsequently issued ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses in November 2018. The ASUs amend guidance on reporting credit losses for assets held at amortized cost basis and available for sale debt securities. For assets held at amortized cost, Topic 326 eliminates the probable initial recognition threshold in current GAAP and, instead, requires an entity to reflect its current estimate of all expected credit losses. For available for sale debt securities (EastGroup does not currently hold any and does not intend to hold any in the future), credit losses should be measured in a similar manner to current GAAP; however, Topic 326 will require that credit losses be presented as an allowance rather than a write-down. The ASUs affect entities holding financial assets and are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company plans to adopt ASU 2016-13 and ASU 2018-19 on January 1, 2020. EastGroup does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its financial condition, results of operations or disclosures.

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. The ASU is intended to improve the effectiveness of fair value measurement disclosures. ASU 2018-13 is effective for all entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted; however, the Company plans to adopt ASU 2018-13 on January 1, 2020. EastGroup does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its financial condition, results of operations or disclosures.