Here Come the Accounting Changes

By Erika Morphy

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When the Senate passed its version of the financial overhaul Brendan Reilly, SVP of government relations for the Commercial Real Estate Financial Council told Globest.com he was relieved that the provisions were basically in line with what the real estate industry needed for CMBS to restart. But he couldn't help adding that the financial legislation is only one piece to a larger recovery, with other regulatory and accounting reforms also playing a role.

Indeed, it could be said that the accounting reforms coming the industry's way will have almost as big an impact as the financial services bill. There are several moving parts to this story - one is the push to converge global and U.S. accounting regulations, which will deliver both benefits and risks. The day of reckoning for that is a bit off - the SEC has yet to make some crucial decisions about deadlines.

More immediate though are two proposals from Federal Accounting Standards Board - one that has grabbed the attention of real estate firms and one that is just as steadily moving towards resolution but with little notice.

Yesterday FASB put forth its proposal that banks report the fair value of loans on their books and accelerate recognition of credit losses. If that rule was in force now you know what it would mean: no more pretend and extend, a lot more distress. For borrowers the former would have made a painful period a lot worse; for opportunistic funds, it would led to more buying opportunities. Indeed the Wall Street Journal reported this week that many of these funds are returning money to investors as their commitment periods end because they haven't found anything in which to invest.

The other proposal on which FASB and International Accounting Standards Board are working has to do with lease accounting standards. Like the banking proposal, this will have a big impact on a wide range of industries - basically anyone who leases anything, from equipment to property will have new business decisions to make once this rule goes into affect. Property owners are just now beginning to realize that as tenants are becoming even less willing to sign long-term leases until the ramifications of the new standard are completely clear.

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