Lease Accounting Rules, Leadership IQ, Investment Opportunities, Genetic Engineering, Industrial Property Purchases

The Organization:
IAMC is headquartered in Atlanta at:
6625 The Corners Parkway,
Suite 200,
Norcross, GA 30092
Tel: 770-325-3461
Fax: 770-263-8825
Toll Free: 1-888-299-9848
www.iamc.org

IAMC is managed by Conway Data, Inc. McKinley Conway, Founder. Conway Data, Inc., also publishes Site Selection magazine (www.siteselection.com), the official publication of IAMC.

June 8, 2010 - Vol. 9, No. 17

Hot Springs, Virginia, Professional Forum Updates

Register for the Fall 2010 Professional Forum in Hot Springs, Virginia, entitled
"Real Estate: Are You Ready for the Next Cycle?," which happens October 2 - 6, 2010.
The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., is the Forum headquarters. For room reservations, call
1-800-838-1766, Ext. 1, and request the "IAMC room block." Or download the reservation form, complete it and fax it to 540-839-7922.

Horseback riding at The Homestead
Photo courtesy of The Homestead

New Lease Accounting Rules - Another Postponement?
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) lease accounting guideline, FAS 13, was severely criticized in the 1990s as a source of questionable financial reporting. Now, going on two decades later the final announcement of the new standard for U.S. publicly held companies, a joint effort of FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), was postponed again on June 2 for the umpteenth time. A Reuters news article says "...FASB Chairman Robert Herz and IASB Chairman Sir David Tweedie said they will keep a June 2011 target date for many projects where converged accounting rules are 'urgently required,' but said a few projects will extend into the second half of 2011. Herz said in an interview on Tuesday that the boards were delaying the plan to allow more comment from affected market participants." An update published Feb. 3, 2010, by Tririga, a company selling a leading property lease accounting software, says, "For companies that control most of their real estate through operating leases, the proposed lease accounting change will have a significant effect on financial statements. Balance sheet and income statement changes have the potential to adversely affect debt covenants and performance ratios. It is important to keep in mind that the proposed FAS 13 lease accounting changes do not have a direct effect on cash flow; arguably the most important indicator of financial performance." At IAMC's Phoenix Professional Forum in the Spring of 2008, IAMC engaged Deloitte & Touche's Doug McEachern, who explained in non-accounting terms how he expected the process of revising the lease accounting rules to play out. In an article on this session, Adam Bruns writes, "At present [April of 2008], the combined forces of the FASB and IASB are inching forward based on the findings of a 2000 report by the G4 +1 countries, which said lease accounting treatment should focus on the transferred rights and obligations, and that every lease is a capital lease. But while agreement in general is easy to come by, the two groups have struggled with the details, such as bargain purchase, purchase options, renewal options and establishing fair value of options."

Boost your Leadership IQ at IAMC Professional Forums

Trainer Dan Coughlin interacting with seminar participants at the Fall 2007 Professional Forum.

Conventional wisdom says that leadership is intrinsic to the individual and can't really be taught. This may be true to some extent, but organizations worldwide spend considerable time and money grooming future leaders and burnishing their skills. IAMC offers a Leadership Development Program on Sundays before each Professional Forum with the objective of "providing high-quality training that enhances leadership skills of IAMC members and benefits the companies they represent and IAMC." Each program features one of the following topics offered in rotating sequence: individual leadership, team leadership, emotional intelligence, and general leadership, e.g., mentoring, measuring, and enhancing understanding.

In order to balance training and member participation, attendance is limited. Those already in the program get preferred placement. But every member is eligible to participate. To register, e-mail your interest in participating to Hazel Pankey. Don't delay; these programs can fill up quickly.

Participate in IAMC's Online Business Networking
Stay "linked in" year-round with fellow IAMC members through IAMC's LinkedIn online business networking group, which is open exclusively to members. Once you join, you can post discussion items for group input and share your knowledge by answering others' questions. If you're not periodically checking IAMC's discussion group, you're missing some great CREM Q&A. One Active member recently wrote this:

Source: blog.linkedin.com

The real concept behind the fact that Harley Davidson is in the business of making accountants scary to small towns on weekends - It's all in how we behave and how we market. We don't get to the table by knowing the market and "DOING DEALS" It's how we think, how we connect, how we present our function....

To jump to the LinkedIn logon screen, click here. Once logged on, go to the top of the left-hand column and click on "groups." For more information on LinkedIn or the IAMC Group on LinkedIn, click here.

Find a Real Estate Job; Post an Opening; Post a Resume
Go to the IAMC Career Center to read about dozens of corporate real estate, economic development and real estate service provider jobs. Here's an example: Manager PSC Facilities, for Quest Diagnostics. The job description says the incumbent "Plans, schedules, and directs staff of skilled and unskilled trade employees in the maintenance of the PSC, RRL and Logistic hub buildings and grounds throughout the business unit. Creates and manages a project schedule to improve the PSC image by upgrading sites to the Quest Diagnostics standards."

Short Subjects

Report Evaluates Commercial Real Estate Investment Opportunities

A CB Richard Ellis white paper published in May of 2010 says, "Equity is abundant in this market and unfortunately it seems that there has been too much capital raised that is looking for a home."

Genetic Engineering Fueling Life Sciences Investment

U.S. agriculture represents a big market for genetically modified food and fiber plants that have been engineered for special growing conditions and to meet specific user needs. The Site Selection magazine article "Gone to (GM) Seed" says, "Several of the sector's major companies, including industrial icons DuPont, Monsanto, Dow and Bayer, have announced R&D expansions in recent months. DuPont announced in March that it would invest US$40 million in a new genetics research facility at its Pioneer Hi-Bred business in Johnston, Iowa. Plans call for the hiring of 400 researchers. Increasing food production is a priority initiative for DuPont, which invests about half of its annual $1.4-billion research and development budget into this area."

Loans and Incentives Support Industrial Property Purchases

Don Jacobson of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune writes, "For those companies that have the wherewithal and the cash in this down economy, buying industrial property rather than lease it is making more sense. Low prices and the willingness of local governments to offer tax and other incentives to lure employers into their communities are prompting more industrial building sales, analysts say."

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