Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

v3.20.2
Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

Gladstone Commercial Corporation is a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that was incorporated under the General Corporation Law of the State of Maryland on February 14, 2003. We focus on acquiring, owning and managing primarily office and industrial properties. On a selective basis, we may make long term industrial and office mortgage loans; however, we do not have any mortgage loans currently outstanding. Subject to certain restrictions and limitations, our business is managed by Gladstone Management Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Adviser”), and administrative services are provided by Gladstone Administration, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Administrator”), each pursuant to a contractual arrangement with us. Our Adviser and Administrator collectively employ all of our personnel and pay their salaries, benefits, and other general expenses directly. Gladstone Commercial Corporation conducts substantially all of its operations through a subsidiary, Gladstone Commercial Limited Partnership, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Operating Partnership”).

All references herein to “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” mean Gladstone Commercial Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries, except where it is made clear that the term means only Gladstone Commercial Corporation.

Interim Financial Information

Our interim financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and pursuant to the requirements for reporting on Form 10-Q and in accordance with Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain disclosures accompanying annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP are omitted. The year-end balance sheet data presented herein was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. In the opinion of our management, all adjustments, consisting solely of normal recurring accruals, necessary for the fair statement of financial statements for the interim period, have been included. The interim financial statements and notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 12, 2020. The results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for other interim periods or for the full fiscal year.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, including the impact of extraordinary events such as the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Significant Accounting Policies

The preparation of our financial statements in accordance with GAAP, requires management to make judgments that are subjective in nature to make certain estimates and assumptions. Application of these accounting policies involves the exercise of judgment regarding the use of assumptions as to future uncertainties, and as a result, actual results could materially differ from these estimates. A summary of all of our significant accounting policies is provided in Note 1, “Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies,” to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. On January 1, 2020, we completed the integration of the accounting records of certain of our triple net leased third-party asset managed properties into our accounting system and paid out of our operating bank accounts. For periods prior to January 1, 2020, we recorded property operating expenses and offsetting lease revenues for these certain triple net leased properties on a net basis. Beginning January 1, 2020, we are recording the property operating expenses and offsetting lease revenues for these triple net leased properties on a gross basis, as we have amended our process whereby we are paying operating expenses on behalf of our tenants and receiving reimbursement, whereas, previously these tenants were paying these expenses directly with limited insight provided to us. There were no other material changes to our critical accounting policies during the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326)” (“ASU 2016-13”). The new standard requires more timely recognition of credit losses on loans and other financial instruments that are not accounted for at fair market value through net income. The standard also requires that financial assets measured at amortized cost be presented at the net amounts anticipated to be collected, through an allowance for credit losses that is deducted from the amortized cost basis. We are required to measure all expected credit losses based upon historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the financial assets. We adopted ASU 2016-13 beginning with the three months ended March 31, 2020. Adopting ASU 2016-13 has not resulted in a material impact to our consolidated financial statements, as we do not have any loans receivable outstanding.

In March 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2020-04, “Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848)” (“ASU 2020-04”). The main provisions of this update provide optional expedients and exceptions for contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. ASU 2020-04 is effective for all entities as of March 12, 2020. We adopted ASU 2020-04 beginning with the three months ended March 31, 2020. Adopting ASU 2020-04 has not resulted in a material impact to our consolidated statements, as ASU 2020-04 allows for prospective application of any changes in the effective interest rate for our LIBOR based debt, and allows for practical expedients that will allow us to treat our derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges consistent with how they are currently accounted for.

In April 2020, the FASB issued a staff question-and-answer document, Topic 842 and Topic 840: Accounting for Lease Concessions related to the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic (“COVID-19 Q&A”), to address frequently asked questions pertaining to lease concessions arising from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing lease guidance requires entities to determine if a lease concession was a result of a new arrangement reached with the tenant, which would be addressed under the lease modification accounting framework, or if a lease concession was under the enforceable rights and obligations within the existing lease agreement, which would not fall under the lease modification accounting framework. The COVID-19 Q&A clarifies that entities may elect to not evaluate whether lease-related relief granted in light of the effects of COVID-19 is a lease modification, as long as the concession does not result in a substantial increase in rights of the lessor or obligations of the lessee. This election is available for concessions that result in the total payments required by the modified contract being substantially the same as or less than the total payments required by the original contract. At this time, we have granted rent deferrals to three tenants representing approximately 2% of total portfolio rents. The agreements with these tenants include current partial payment in exchange for rent deferrals of varying terms with deferred amounts to be paid by the respective tenant back to us, for the period starting in July 2020 and ending through March 2021. We have elected to not evaluate these leases under the lease modification accounting framework.