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Basis of Presentation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation Basis of Presentation
Readers of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (Quarterly Report) should refer to the audited financial statements and notes to consolidated financial statements of CBRE Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (which may be referred to in these financial statements as “the company,” “we,” “us” and “our”), for the year ended December 31, 2021, which are included in our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K (2021 Annual Report), filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and also available on our website (www.cbre.com), since we have omitted from this Quarterly Report certain footnote disclosures which would substantially duplicate those contained in such audited financial statements. You should also refer to Note 2, Significant Accounting Policies, in the notes to consolidated financial statements in our 2021 Annual Report for further discussion of our significant accounting policies and estimates.
Considerations Related to the Covid-19 Pandemic and the war in Ukraine
From 2010 to early 2020, commercial real estate markets had generally been characterized by increased demand for space, falling vacancies, higher rents and strong capital flows, leading to solid property sales and leasing activity. This healthy backdrop changed abruptly in the first quarter of 2020 with the emergence of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and resultant sharp contraction of economic activity across much of the world. There was a significant impact on commercial real estate markets, as many property owners and occupiers put transactions on hold and withdrew existing mandates, sharply reducing sales and leasing volumes. Subsequently commercial real estate markets recovered strongly beginning in 2021 and continuing into the first quarter of 2022. However, it is expected the pandemic has structurally changed the utilization of many types of commercial real estate, which is likely to impact our business. In addition, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and the ongoing military conflict poses heightened risk, particularly for our operations in central and eastern Europe, and could exacerbate macro-economic challenges, including supply chain disruptions and persistently high inflation, as well as adversely affect business and/or consumer sentiment and overall economic growth. As a result of this conflict, we elected to exit most of our business in Russia, although we have a limited number of employees managing facilities for existing global clients that continue to operate there.
See Note 10 (Commitments and Contingencies) for further discussion of Covid-19 considerations.
Financial Statement Preparation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules applicable to quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and include all information and footnotes required for interim financial statement presentation, but do not include all disclosures required under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S.), or General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), for annual financial statements. In our opinion, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments, except as otherwise noted) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions about future events, including the impact Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine may have on our business. These estimates and the underlying assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Such estimates include the value of goodwill, intangibles and other long-lived assets, real estate assets, accounts receivable, contract assets, operating lease assets, investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries and assumptions used in the calculation of income taxes, retirement and other post-employment benefits, among others. These estimates and assumptions are based on our best judgment. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, including consideration of the current economic environment, and adjust such estimates and assumptions when facts and circumstances dictate. As future events and their effects cannot be determined with precision, actual results could differ significantly from these estimates. Changes in these estimates resulting from continuing changes in the economic environment will be reflected in the financial statements in future periods.