The employer must hire designated community residents. A designated community resident is a new employee who is at least 18 and has not reached the age of 40, and who lives in a designated county. 30 counties in Iowa qualify and 35 counties in Nebraska qualify as a designated county - as well as many counties in surrounding states. Please note that it is the employee that must reside in a designated county. It is not relevant where the employer is located.

Based on questions that we have received lately, it appears that leasing is a favorable way of acquiring assets for some of our clients. The decision to lease is based on specifics such as: better financial terms, necessity, the lack of available financing, or just the desire to keep assets off the balance sheet. In any case, whether the lease is treated as an operating lease, the decision should be dependent upon the terms of each individual lease agreement.

The volatility that the market is currently experiencing in regard to handled commodities, grain, fertilizer and fuels will cause us to adapt our audit procedures to match the risks it imposes.