Posted on Thursday, 2nd September 2010 by The Keane Organization

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Are you interested in cost risks of unclaimed property compliance in Arizona?

Here you will find valuable knowledge pertaining to Arizona State escheat and unclaimed property laws.

Should there be a specific question that we fail to answer here, we’re ready and willing to provide our insight.  To submit your inquiry and get more information, fill out this brief form below or get in touch directly with the Arizona Unclaimed Property Unit.

Aspects of Arizona Unclaimed Property and Escheatment Law

Listed here are several aspects of Arizona unclaimed property and escheatment law to keep in mind in order to avoid interest and penalties: Read More »

Tags: Abandoned Property, Abandoned Property Law, Arizona, Best Practices, Dormancy Periods, Escheat Law, Escheatment, State Escheatment, Unclaimed Property, Unclaimed Property Law, Unclaimed Property Reporting
Posted in Abandoned Property, Abandoned Property Law, Best Practices, Dormancy Periods, Escheat Law, Escheatment, State Escheatment, Unclaimed Property, Unclaimed Property Law, Unclaimed Property Reporting | Comments (0)

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

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 Monday, 26th October 2009 by The Keane Organization

In an ongoing effort to educate finance, accounting and compliance departments about their company’s unclaimed property risks, the Keane Organization’s Unclaimed Property Services Division (UPSD) is offering a unique opportunity to connect directly with Keane’s subject matter experts. An online Audit Risk Assessment is being made available to those who are interested in a way to evaluate their risk and receive tips on prevention.

Read More »

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

Posted on Tuesday, 29th September 2009 by The Keane Organization

I recently learned about some interesting statistics regarding Delaware’s abandoned property law that helps illustrate what unclaimed property means to state budgets. It also shows why companies are facing an increased risk of unclaimed or abandoned property audit.

This is an issue I have discussed in the past - as the states face tighter budgets and decreasing revenue, they have looked to other sources, like unclaimed property reporting and audit proceeds, to help make up the difference. It is a risk that can have a material impact on your company’s cash flow and financial well-being.

My colleague at The Keane Organization, Laura Lane, shared with me the information that was recently disclosed by the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC). DEFAC meets six times a year to set forecasts for the State’s finances and shares the minutes of those meetings online.

The minutes of the the June 15, 2009 meeting were recently posted and contain some interesting insights into how the abandoned property law impacts the state budget. For example, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, the forecast for “Abandoned Property” increased from $330 million to $350 million. Additionally, the minutes indicate that the $20 million increase is attributable to the settlement of ONE large case. Large indeed!

This makes unclaimed property or abandoned property the third largest source of revenue for the State of Delaware. It is not just a large contributor to the state’s revenue – its one of THE largest and most significant.

It’s a harsh reality for companies that are incorporated in Delaware – the ones that are most at risk. It’s not clear exactly where the state thinks the money will come from, but it is difficult to imagine that they could maintain and grow the amount of money collected year-over-year without continuing to aggressively enforce their statutes through audits (and assessing fines and penalties). This is a clear illustration of why companies must be well prepared by reporting properly on an annual basis and ensuring that they have identified and corrected any accounting practices that would raise the eyebrows of the auditors.

While you may not be aware of your vulnerabilities, the states are. They’re so confident that it’s in the budget.

Tags: Abandoned Property, audit, compliance, DEFAC, reporting, risk management, state law, Unclaimed Property, UPSD
Posted in Abandoned Property, Best Practices, Unclaimed Property | Comments (1)

Posted on Tuesday, 15th September 2009 by The Keane Organization

This post by Gail Warner, President of Keane’s Unclaimed Property Services Division, appeared on Keane’s corporate blog, “KeaneObservations” written by Peter Teuten, Keane’s risk management expert.

I’m picking up where Peter left off last week regarding the topic of unclaimed property audit and how it relates to risk management and compliance.

The words audit and risk go hand in hand. The word “audit” alone makes anyone in a corporate finance or risk management department cringe and begin vigorous preparations (and palpitations!). But in the case of an unclaimed property audit, that natural reaction tends to be a mix of confusion and uncertainty. It’s much more important now that companies understand the drivers of unclaimed property risk because audits are on the rise. Depending on state laws (and the extent of some state’s budget woes), unclaimed property offers states an attractive source of alternate capital (you see, much of the money states collect from companies is often used on state programs that would otherwise not happen or would require the use of additional tax dollars).

Read More »

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

Posted on Friday, 11th September 2009 by The Keane Organization

By Peter Teuten, President of Keane’s Business Risk Management Solutions

Ignorance is bliss – right? I think we have all come to view that cliché with disdain during the economic crisis. The known risk is often the most easy to manage. The hidden risk is obviously less easy to measure, manage and monitor. This was/is true of the highly leveraged mortgage and lending industries, the Wall St. investment banks, and even government.

An example of this kind of hidden risk that I see a great deal of is in the area of unclaimed property and reporting.

Read More »

Posted in Best Practices, Seminars, Unclaimed Property Audit, Unclaimed Property Reporting | Comments (0)

Posted on Monday, 24th August 2009 by The Keane Organization

The Association of Financial Professionals (AFP) is hosting a web seminar about Unclaimed Property Audit prevention on Thursday, August 27^th from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET. The event features Sonia Walwyn, Regional Vice President of The Keane Organization’s Unclaimed Property Services Division. Sonia will be joined by Keane client Val Golin, Escheatment Spokesperson of ING Direct to speak on the topic “Unclaimed Property: Ensuring Compliance in the Face of Audit”.

Read More »

Posted in Best Practices, Seminars, Unclaimed Property Audit, Unclaimed Property Compliance | Comments (0)