About the Report
New in this 2007 Annual Report
Reporting by Project and by Program
IDED continues to report data by Project because it allows a quick look at all the IDED funding sources that are involved with each individual Project. New in this Report is an accounting of awards by program and by funding source (i.e., IVF(FES), IVF(2005), “old money” and federal money).
More Descriptive Project Status Categories
Additional Project Status categories have been added this year to more clearly describe the general, overall status of a Project. The eight categories are:
- Projects in Contract Negotiations
- Projects Too New to Report (April, May, June 2007 awards)
- Projects Under Contract – In Performance
- Projects Under Contract – In Maintenance
- Closed Contracts (Completed)
- Projects Declined or Rescinded
- Projects in Default
- Projects in Collections
Individual Projects – Detail View
This new interactive electronic format provides additional information about the assistance provided to a Project. It includes details such as the programs providing assistance, the forms of the assistance (e.g., loan, forgivable loan, royalty and guarantee), the award amount, the details of each Funding Agreement (the Award Date, the Project Completion Date and the Maintenance Date) and the status of each Funding Agreement (e.g. in performance, in maintenance, closed, default and in collections).
More Detailed Financials - Listing by Program and by Funding Source
In response to requests for data to be presented in ways other than just by Project, this year’s Report has detailed financials prepared by IDED’s Accounting staff. Awards are listed by program and by funding source (IVF(FES), IVF(2005), “old money” and federal money). (Refer to Appendix A and B for these new detailed financials.)
Terms Defined and Used Consistently
Reporting on activity associated with 10 programs with four different Qualifying Wage Thresholds and varying Project Completion period and Maintenance period requirements is challenging. Standardized terminology was made easier for this year’s Report. On June 15, 2007, IDED adopted consolidated administrative rules for these programs and established standardized terms that apply to all programs in this Report. (See Appendix C for the key definitions used throughout this Report.)
Report Assumptions and Protocols are More Transparent
This Report has a more detailed description of the reporting process and protocols used to arrive at the numbers. For example, because a Project usually has more than one program funding source, it is necessary to choose one of the programs as a lead source for purposes of reporting job and wage numbers. The job and wage numbers reported for a Project are the numbers for the direct financial assistance program. If there are two direct financial assistance programs, the numbers are from the program that has the higher Qualifying Wage Threshold. (See Appendix E for a description of how this Report was prepared.)
New Way to Count and Track Jobs That is Accountable, Verifiable and Business Friendly
The Legal and Compliance staff heard concerns from businesses about IDED’s contractual reporting requirements. Legal and Compliance consulted with award recipients and their tax, human resource and legal advisors, the Association of Business and Industry and the State Auditor’s Office about ways to improve the job tracking and reporting process.
Based on this input, IDED adopted rules on June 15, 2007, to implement a new job counting and tracking method. This new method is more accountable, verifiable and business friendly. The new method tracks a company’s overall employment growth during the contract period. Rather than try to track thousands of jobs by individual employee and job title over a 5-17 year contract period, the improved tracking process looks at the characteristics of the business’s workforce at the time of the award and compares it to annually reported numbers. This new method collects data about the total number of full-time employees and the average wage of that base, the number of full-time employees that meet or exceed the Qualifying Wage Thresholds (QWTs) for IDED programs and the average wage of that group. (See Appendix G for more information about QWTs for each program and average county wage calculations.)
Instead of reporting averages, this new method reports the number of created and retained jobs that pay at or above the QWTs for a contract. This change ensures that only those created and retained jobs that meet or exceed the QWTs are counted for purposes of contract compliance. (See Appendix D for more information about the new job counting and tracking method and why it was implemented.)
New Way To Report Results - Compare Contract Obligations To Contract Performance
In an effort to more clearly communicate whether companies are meeting or not meeting their contract job, wage and total project cost obligations, this year’s Report compares contract obligations to contract performance. This more easily allows the public to determine how each individual contract is performing and if the State is on target to reach the number of jobs for which it contracted. (See Appendix E for a description of the Report Methodology.)
Extra Jobs Reported
Extra jobs reported that are in excess of contract requirements are now listed separately in this Report. These extra jobs are not used to meet contractual obligations, but are part of the overall employment at the Project location.
Reporting on Implementation of Auditor’s Recommendations
On January 26, 2007, the Auditor of the State (AOS) released a report resulting from a review of the Iowa Values Fund. This report included a number of recommendations. The Annual Report describes how IDED has implemented the Auditor’s suggestions. (See Appendix H for more information about how the Department has incorporated AOS recommendations and other improvements it has made to its oversight and administrative procedures.)
Below are the highlights of the changes that have been made as of June 30, 2007:
- The Report is limited to data and activities that occurred during fiscal year 2007 (July 1, 2006- June 30, 2007)
- Funded projects are online and searchable by project status, funding source, program, city and keyword
- Individual and cumulative data is now available for funded projects
- Standard definitions, including definitions for the 2003 and 2005 Iowa Values Funds, have been adopted and are used consistently
- A one-page summary for each funded project includes all the statutorily-required reporting elements
- IDED’s Accounting staff has prepared detailed financials for this Report, including a schedule that shows the expenditures from each component of IVF(2005)
- The Report meets statutory reporting requirements for IVF(2005), HQJC and CEBA. It also voluntarily reports on IDED’s other state job creation programs.
- This Report more clearly differentiates between “project jobs,” “contracted jobs” and “reported jobs”
- The Department consolidated its contract, reporting, monitoring and oversight functions for state job creation programs into Legal and Compliance. Legal and Compliance is under the direction of the Director and Deputy Director. It reports monthly to the Iowa Economic Development Board on the status of funded projects.
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