Dunbar will evaluate dormant accounts and payments to determine the liability to each state, and assist the client with remediation to minimize the amount owed. As there is no one solution that will work in every state, Dunbar advises clients on the solutions available, taking our clients’ risk tolerance and prior reporting history into consideration.

For companies that have never reported unclaimed property, knowing where to start can be overwhelming. Our fully-automated reporting process relieves the client of time-consuming research to determine the reporting requirements of each state.

A voluntary disclosure agreement program (VDA) offers an opportunity for a holder to report its overdue unclaimed property on a voluntary basis. These formal and informal voluntary disclosures allow corporations to come into compliance with their reporting obligations while benefiting from a shorter look-back period than state audits, which can potentially reduce liability. However, factors including the amount of past-due property, calculation of potential interest and penalties, and a willingness to report all applicable property types will be paramount in assessing if voluntary disclosures are ideal for your organization.

Learn more about considerations to take into account when determining whether to enroll in a VDA program by getting in touch with our unclaimed property compliance specialists.

Dunbar’s consulting and advisory services can help companies obtain unclaimed property compliance with a thorough review of the internal process of all departments that have the potential to generate unclaimed property. We evaluate your current state and work with the company to not only achieve unclaimed property compliance, but implement best practices for their industry. As part of the process review, Dunbar will create or update internal policies and procedures to ensure a process that is consistent and sustainable.

For banks, determining gaps in the unclaimed process is incredibly beneficial. Dunbar’s OPTIMIZE is a custom process review platform that utilizes a Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to help financial institutions identify exposures before they trigger fines or result in drawn-out, costly audit processes.

Unclaimed property is often overlooked in the course of merger and acquisition due diligence, potentially leading to the acquisition of a substantial liability. Dunbar will review the target company’s unclaimed property reporting history to determine if reporting was done accurately. If the company has never reported unclaimed property, we can evaluate their dormant and outstanding items to determine if a potential liability exists before that liability becomes the responsibility of the acquiring company.

If your company is selected for an unclaimed property audit, our team will analyze audit requests and findings to determine the validity and accuracy of the auditor’s requests and assessments. The scope of abandoned and unclaimed property laws is complex and varies by state and jurisdiction. As such, it’s key to have an unclaimed property compliance strategy in place to identify and report unclaimed property efficiently.

We understand that multistate audit firms can burden you with lengthy audit requests and demands for remediation documentation, burdening your company with extrapolation methods that may not fully represent your liability. We can assist in drafting responses and documenting procedures to ensure ongoing compliance, helping to negotiate the final assessment and closure of the audit.

Having outdated policies and procedures for unclaimed property management, or no policies and procedures at all, presents an unnecessary risk to the entire organization. As unclaimed property laws and regulations change, so should a company’s unclaimed property policies and procedures. This will not only ensure compliance but will provide a roadmap for daily operations, streamline internal processes and create uniformity throughout the organization. Dunbar’s consulting and advisory services helps all industries, large and small, develop policies and procedures that keep the organization up to date and in compliance with the ever-changing unclaimed property laws.