Unclaimed Property Services

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States have aggressively expanded the enforcement of their unclaimed property laws. Typically, these audits are conducted by contingent-fee audit firms, whose interests are best served by representing multiple states through an audit. Through the emergence of new audit firms, businesses may face simultaneous audits with differing audit firms on behalf of differing states. Auditor requests for information and data can be excessive, and the state of incorporation/formation of each operating entity may calculate aggressive error ratios to estimate liabilities for periods where books and records are not available spanning the audit scope period. 

The Petersen Group can help you manage each stage of the audit, develop defensible positions, minimize the impact of estimations, and liaison with auditors and states to achieve fair and reasonable results.

For businesses seeking to voluntarily  and proactively come into compliance with its unclaimed property reporting responsibilities, most states offer some form of voluntary disclosure program. These programs typically offer benefits of reduced scope periods, waiver of penalties and interest, and self-assessment of exposure. However, once selected for audit, businesses may no longer be eligible to participate in state voluntary disclosure programs. 

Delaware's Secretary of State continues to issue letters encouraging companies to complete a voluntary disclosure agreement (VDA) to ensure compliance with Delaware's Abandoned or Unclaimed Property Laws. Companies that receive these invitations must enroll within 60 days of receipt. Businesses that do not enroll in the Delaware VDA program become eligible for audit, which has been evidenced by increased audit notices issued by Delaware's Department of Finance.

The Petersen Group can help you scope areas within the organization giving rise to unclaimed property, gather records and quantify exposures to comply with state voluntary disclosure programs, and liaison with state unclaimed property administrators and other stakeholders for comprehensive settlements. Whether you are submitting unclaimed property reports for the first time or regularly report with an uncovered issue not addressed previously, we have the experience to facilitate compliance and potentially avoid an audit.

The Petersen Group can customize training sessions and educational materials for all levels of experience within various departments of your organization. Our team understands the unique unclaimed property issues of your industry, and we are passionate about delivering quality-driven training sessions and workshops designed to fit your needs.  

When the C-Suite understands the importance of proper unclaimed property compliance, adequate support is given to the department responsible for annual reporting. The Petersen Group can help you build the business case to obtain adequate and affordable training for you and your staff.

Frequent legislative changes and increased state enforcement have heightened the need for businesses to ensure the completeness and accuracy of their annual unclaimed property reporting processes. The Petersen Group takes an innovative approach to annual compliance to address unclaimed property at the root cause. We seek to help businesses find efficiencies through data automation, process improvements, maintaining contact with property owners, and retaining the proper records to minimize risks under future audit. 

The Petersen Group's reporting and compliance services include: monitoring legislative changes, data validation, eligibility guidance, and report preparation. To allow clients to monitor consistency in annual reporting or identify process improvements, our deliverable includes charts and graphs that depict meaningful patterns of historical reporting and year-to-year comparisons. 

Unclaimed property policies and procedures are intended to document an economical and efficient method to identify, process and report unclaimed property. By establishing a high degree of understanding, cooperation, and efficiency across the organization, you can strengthen your businesses' compliance with its annual reporting responsibilities.

The Petersen Group can help you create customized policy and procedure documents using industry best practices to build a centralized compliance function. When turnover in personnel occurs, your documentation can also be used as a "user's manual" so others can quickly and easily take it over.

Many businesses only focus on their reporting and remittance obligations rather than the recovery of their own unclaimed property and thus missing the opportunity to offset costs within their compliance function.

The Petersen Group can help you identify and recover ownership in financial accounts and instruments or other unclaimed financial assets owed to your organization. Let us help you find and recover money you didn’t know you had.