Posted on Monday, 28th November 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

As you may know, in December of 2010 Venio LLC acquired The Keane Organization to form the premier unclaimed property firm in the country, now known in the marketplace simply as “Keane”.  Although The Keane Organization had been a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for more than 20 years, the “new” Keane was required to reapply for accreditation with the BBB in the New York Metropolitan area, where the combined company is headquartered. Now that the Keane unclaimed property review is complete, we are happy to announce that we received our accreditation and an A+ rating from the BBB.  CEO Mike O’Donnell credits the success to the quality of services provided by the Legal Claimant Services division to heirs, beneficiaries and estate representatives.

Keane’s A+ rating is a result of the following factors:

• Business’ complaint history with BBB.
• Type of business.
• Time in business.
• Background information on business in BBB files.
• Failure to honor commitments to BBB.
• Advertising issues known to BBB.
• Potential advertising issues identified by BBB.

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Posted on Friday, 18th November 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Last week, Keane Senior Manager Pam Wentz and Vice President Scott Regan spoke at the Tax Executive Institute’s Philadelphia Chapter Conference on state and local tax trends and strategies. In an effort to further educate tax professionals about the implications of taxes and unclaimed property, Pam’s presentation was focused on federal and state rules and regulations, the current state of unclaimed property affairs, obligations of businesses when it comes to reporting, and the different types of audits companies can face for failure to fully report unclaimed property obligations – or failure to report them at all. Pam also outlined best practices businesses can follow to minimize audit risk and liabilities.

While unclaimed property isn’t considered a tax, it often falls within the purview of the tax department. Unclaimed property looks like a tax because there is an annual filing requirement governed by state law. It feels like a tax because unclaimed property compliance requires ongoing monitoring of changes in laws and regulations making taxes and unclaimed property reporting more complex than ever. Therefore, to ensure that companies are safe from an audit and in full compliance, tax executives and their departments need to have a firm grasp on current rules and regulations as well as the reporting process.

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Posted on Friday, 23rd September 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

According to September 2011 survey results recently released by Keane, unclaimed property service quality is at the highest levels since the survey program was initiated in 2003. According to responses from more than 700 customers (specifically, the legal claimants that have used Keane’s asset recovery services) Keane received a 98% overall satisfaction rating. Further, 98% of customers would recommend Keane’s services to others. For the eighth year in a row, there were very few complaints and many accolades for Keane’s account management team members who help guide customers through the asset recovery process.

These encouraging results come on the heels of Keane earning the top spot in the 2011 Shareholder Services Industry Satisfaction Report conducted by Group 5, a New Jersey-based consulting and corporate services research company. Keane received the #1 rating for lost shareholder and asset recovery services firms for the second year in a row.

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Posted on Wednesday, 21st September 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

On Monday, September 12, 2011, the Third Circuit United States Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case of New Jersey Retail Merchants Association v. Sidamon-Eristoff.  The litigation concerns the New Jersey gift card law passed in 2010 which, among other things, altered the unclaimed property jurisdictional priority rules for the reporting of gift cards in New Jersey.  The new law required that holders collect zip codes from purchasers, and in the absence of information concerning the owner, the presumed address would be the place of purchase.

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Posted on Monday, 19th September 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Keane CEO Mike O’Donnell announces the company’s top rating at Client Connection 2011

Keane recently received advanced confirmation that we were rated the #1 lost shareholder and asset recovery services firm for the second year in a row by Group 5’s 2011 Shareholder Services Industry Satisfaction Report.

Group Five is a Princeton, NJ-based consulting and corporate services research company. They conduct this annual study by surveying US corporate managers regarding their satisfaction with shareholder services provided by transfer agents and other service providers like Keane. Over 1,000 companies participated in the 2011 study. Keane received advanced notice of our top rating, but Group Five will be issuing a press release and full summary report of the study within the next week. (Update: Group Five officially announced the results of their 2011 report on October 4th. Click here to view their press release.)

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Posted on Thursday, 1st September 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Tax professionals may not think that unclaimed property compliance falls within their department’s jurisdiction – however, more often than not, it does. Even though unclaimed property laws are not tax laws, they are close cousins. Unclaimed property looks like a tax because there is an annual filing requirement governed by state law. It also feels like a tax because compliance requires ongoing monitoring of changes in laws and regulations. And for these reasons, the tax department is generally actively involved in – and ultimately responsible for – unclaimed property compliance.

In a recent article in Tax Executive titled, “Unclaimed Property Compliance: A Tax Department Responsibility?” Laura Lane, Senior Manager at Keane, outlined the role tax professionals play in the unclaimed property compliance process. She outlines several best practices tax professionals can adopt to enhance their company’s compliance level. These include identifying potential outstanding liabilities and working with management to preemptively resolve them, assisting management in developing a corporate policy regarding due diligence, reconciling accounts to prevent overpayment, documenting an annual compliance roadmap, and monitoring and tracking regulatory changes.

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Posted on Monday, 1st August 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

In the last year, the spotlight has been on the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. Part of that bill includes proposed amendments to SEC Rule 17Ad-17 that will extend requirements in the handling of lost shareholders and unclaimed property to the previously exempt broker/dealer community. The proposed Rule would require broker/dealers to exercise reasonable care in finding lost security holders. Once a holder is considered lost, the broker/dealer would be required to search for a new address for the account holder.

In its current state, the proposed rule promises to create five major points of impact on the broker/dealer community. The five challenges are: Read More »

Posted on Thursday, 2nd June 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Keane consultants continue to lend their unclaimed property compliance expertise and advice to the media. This week, Bankers Digest included an article written by Valerie Jundt, the managing director of our Consulting & Advisory Services group. The article (click here to read), titled, “Financial Institutions Face Set of Regulations for Unclaimed Property,” discusses how financial institutions can misstep when it comes to unclaimed property reporting. In her article, Valerie discusses potential unclaimed property trouble for financial companies including:

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Posted on Wednesday, 25th May 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

With states continuing to enforce the rules of unclaimed property, insurance companies are the clear current focus. The insurance website Life and Health National Underwriter reported last Wednesday that the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FOIR) had announced a settlement agreement with John Hancock Life Insurance Company.  As we shared in an earlier blog, this settlement stems from the recent audits by Verus Financial LLC of many insurance companies on behalf of as many as 37 states. Verus and the states are looking into the practices of some insurance companies regarding how claims settlements are handled with respect to annuity contracts, life policies and retained asset accounts. Read More »

Posted on Friday, 6th May 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

On Tuesday, May 3rd, Texas substantially amended HB 257 proposing, among other things, to adjust the due dates for Texas unclaimed property rules, reporting, and delivery.  Previously, Texas’ reporting due date was November 1st with a cut-off date of June 30th.  The amended bill proposes a due date of July 1st with a cut-off date of March 1st.  Accordingly, Texas’ due diligence statute is amended to match the new deadline.

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