Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

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Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

1. Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

Gladstone Commercial Corporation is a real estate investment trust, or 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 commercial 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, or the Adviser, and administrative services are provided by Gladstone Administration, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, or 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 general expenses directly. Gladstone Commercial Corporation conducts substantially all of its operations through a subsidiary, Gladstone Commercial Limited Partnership, a Delaware limited partnership, or the Operating Partnership.

All further 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 U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or 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 presentation 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, 2015, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 17, 2016. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2016 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. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of our financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make judgments that are subjective in nature in order 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 to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. There were no material changes to our critical accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2016.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases: Amendments to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification” (“ASU 2016-02”), The new standard 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 by the lessee. This classification will determine whether lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight line basis over the term of the lease, respectively. 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 minimally impact our consolidated financial statements as we have four operating ground lease arrangement for which we are the lessee. We also expect to our legal expense to increase as the new standard requires us to expense indirect leasing costs that were previously capitalized to leasing commissions. ASC 2016-02 supersedes the previous leases standard, ASC 840 Leases. The standard is effective on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance.

Reclassifications

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, “Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs” (“ASU-2015-03”), which simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs. ASU 2015-03 requires the presentation of debt issuance costs in the balance sheet as a deduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability instead of a deferred financing cost. ASU 2015-03 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. We have adopted the provisions of ASU 2015-03 for the three months ended March 31, 2016. We had unamortized deferred financing fees of $6.0 and $6.1 million as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. These costs have been reclassified from deferred financing costs, net, to mortgage notes payable, net, borrowings under line of credit, net, borrowings under term loan facility, net, and Series C mandatorily redeemable preferred stock, net. All periods presented have been retrospectively adjusted.

The following table summarizes the retrospective adjustment and the overall impact on the previously reported consolidated financial statements (dollars in thousands):

 

     December 31, 2015  
     As Previously
Reported
     Retrospective
Application
 

Deferred financing costs, net

   $ 6,138       $ —     

Mortgage notes payable, net

     460,770         455,863   

Borrowings under line of credit, net

     45,300         44,591   

Borrowings under term loan facility, net

     25,000         24,878   

Series C mandatorily redeemable preferred stock, net

     38,500         38,100