Posted on Wednesday, 28th July 2010 by The Keane Organization

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At this point, you probably know that many organizations are carrying unclaimed property and are in danger of  escheat audits. But why do companies seem to be so willing to risk non-compliance? While many companies are aware of unclaimed property compliance requirements, some will just wait until they get hit with an escheat audit to do anything. Others understand the risk, but do not want to allocate the time or resources needed to proactively define their liability and reduce it.  And some are simply uninformed of their compliance obligations.

Debbie Zumoff, Chief Compliance Officer at Keane, recently spoke with John Cummings, Editor of Business Finance and Author of the BizTaxBuzz Blog, about escheat audits and why they seem to be in the future of so many companies.  Click here to read the whole post. 

Two of the downsides to not reporting unclaimed property are penalties and interest, which can quickly add up and even double the amount of underlying liability. For most companies, this can mean big losses. However, there are number of audit risk red flags that companies can look out for when it comes to unclaimed property. These include not reporting all property types, using inappropriate dormancy triggers, failing to perform state-mandated due diligence and many others. If companies are aware of these red flags upfront and keep them in mind when it’s time to file unclaimed property each year, they can better prepare for and defend against escheat audits and significantly reduce risk to their organization.

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Posted in Best Practices, Escheat Audits, Unclaimed Property Audit, Unclaimed Property Compliance, Unclaimed Property Reporting | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 16th July 2010 by The Keane Organization

Recent legislative, regulatory and legal developments that occurred during the month of June 2010 in the areas of state unclaimed property law and regulation are summarized below, by state and by topic:

Unclaimed Property Reporting Laws: State By State Changes

Delaware Unclaimed Property Reporting

SB 272

Introduced 5/13/10, Passed Senate 6/22/2010, Passed House 6/29/2010.

Section 1 of the Act provides for an administrative review process at the conclusion of an unclaimed property examination. This review process may be invoked at the option of the unclaimed property holder. It will allow the holder to file a written protest, submit additional information in support of the protest and request that the Audit Manager reconsider the Department’s findings following an examination.

Section 2 of the Act creates a limited exemption from the definition of property for abandoned property purposes that arises from transactions between merchants covered by the Uniform Commercial Code where, for whatever reason, a merchant holder receives goods for which the holder was never invoiced by the seller. Read More »

Posted in Dormancy Periods, Escheat Law, Legislative Updates, State Escheatment, Unclaimed Property Reporting | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednesday, 23rd June 2010 by The Keane Organization

This post details a recent change in Indiana unclaimed property law that reduces dormancy periods & will effect reporting as of November 1, 2011. If you have specific questions or would like personalized guidance, please contact an unclaimed property consultant.

On March 17th the Governor of Indiana signed HB 1083 into law, with an effective date of July 1, 2010. The following dormancy periods were reduced from five years to three years: (1) A demand, savings, or matured time deposit. (2) Property payable as a result of a demutualization, rehabilitation, or related reorganization of a mutual insurance company. (3) All other property not otherwise specified under the act (catch-all provision). Read More »

Posted in Dormancy Periods, Escheat Law, Legislative Alerts, State Escheatment, Uncategorized, Unclaimed Property Law | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 25th May 2010 by The Keane Organization

This is to advise that on May 14, 2010, the Delaware General Assembly introduced legislation that proposes significant changes to the administration and enforcement of Delaware’s unclaimed property statute.

Specifically, this Act improves the administration of the Delaware Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Statute by providing holders with additional clarity and certainty regarding the enforcement of the Delaware abandoned property statute. Read More »

Posted in Abandoned Property Law, Legislative Alerts, State Escheatment, Unclaimed Property Compliance, Unclaimed Property Law | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 21st May 2010 by The Keane Organization

A question we often hear asked is, “What does my company HAVE to know about unclaimed property recovery & reporting?”

This post aims to answer that question.

The Basics Of Unclaimed Property Recovery & Reporting

Virtually every company has abandoned property of some form or another.

According to abandoned property law in every state, all companies are required to file reports annually with the states. Read More »

Posted in Unclaimed Property Reporting | Comments (0)

Posted on Monday, 26th April 2010 by The Keane Organization

Following Arizona unclaimed property law? Some late-breaking news for you:

On April 20, 2010, the Governor of Arizona signed HB 2453 into law.

This bill reverts the dormancy period for Arizona security and bond property back to a 3 year dormancy, up from 2 years.

The legislation reverses the recently enacted Senate Bill 1003 which reduced the dormancy period for most property types by one year.

SB1003 was a budget reconciliation bill enacted in a last ditch effort to get the delayed Arizona budget passed.  Beyond the revenue the reduced dormancy periods would bring to the State, it appears that not much time was spent evaluating the other consequences of the bill. Read More »

Posted in Escheat Law, Legislative Alerts, State Escheatment | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednesday, 14th April 2010 by The Keane Organization

Some important news for you if you’re a holder following state unclaimed property law; Indiana has recently announced a change –

Indiana Institutes Unclaimed Property Amnesty Program

A one-time only “Amnesty” program to help holders of unclaimed property regain compliance.

What does that mean exactly?

Well, a lot of companies continue holding unclaimed property on their books – either intentionally, or more often, simply because they are unaware of the state unclaimed property laws.

This is not very surprising considering the vast number of escheat laws that apply to holders across the 50 states, and the break-neck pace with which they change.

But this type of program allows holders to voluntarily come forward to comply with the laws without the threat of paying hefty interest and penalty payments. Read More »

Posted in State Escheatment, Unclaimed Property Audit, Unclaimed Property Compliance, Unclaimed Property Law | Comments (0)

Posted on Thursday, 1st April 2010 by The Keane Organization

Join Us In Philadelphia For A Summit On Managing & Reporting Unclaimed Property

Annual Summit to Address Growing Need for Organizations to Proactively Report Unclaimed Property

The Keane Organization to Host 6th Annual Unclaimed Property Educational Summit in Philadelphia – the major topic? Why it’s important to proactively report unclaimed property.

Wayne, Pa. – April 5, 2010 – The Keane Organization, a global provider of unclaimed property compliance and risk management solutions, announced today it will hold its 6th Annual Unclaimed Property Educational Summit in Philadelphia on April 28.

Hosted by Keane’s Unclaimed Property Services Division (UPSD), the Summit will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Courtyard Marriott in Center City Philadelphia.

The event will provide attendees with the knowledge to determine their organization’s risk for audit, best practices to improve internal controls and essential guidelines on first time and/or voluntary compliance.

This yearly summit offers holders of unclaimed property a confidential environment to discuss changes in state escheatment laws and their affect on abandoned property compliance reporting.

Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Posted on Thursday, 4th March 2010 by Freda Pepper

This post pertains to the Delaware Abandoned Property Law, and more specifically to a recent lawsuit between DE and CA, Inc.

In a stunning turn of events, the State of Delaware and CA, Inc. (“CA”) have settled their litigation pending in the Delaware Court of Chancery.  According to the terms of the agreement, CA has agreed to pay to the State a staggering sum of $17,650,000., including interest and penalties.

This amount represents CA’s Delaware unclaimed property liability for all past reporting years, starting in 1991 through and including the 2010 reporting year.  The amount does not reflect any liability for equity property owed under the Abandoned Property Law.  The portion of the settlement amount that CA claims relate to (for reporting years 2009 and 2010) is $983,057.65.   Read More »

Posted in Abandoned Property Law, Escheat Law, Legislative Updates, Other News, Unclaimed Property Compliance | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednesday, 17th February 2010 by The Keane Organization

January 2010 was a busy month for state unclaimed property rules.

A major trend across many states, which is a hindrance to corporations and holders, is the reduction in dormancy periods.

Recent legislative, regulatory and legal developments that occurred during the month of January 2010 in the areas of unclaimed property law and regulation are summarized below, by topic: Read More »

Posted in Abandoned Property Law, Legislative Updates, State Escheatment | Comments (0)