How Unclaimed Property Could Be Costing your Company Big $$$

Sherry Hale
February 1, 2018

This blog was last updated on February 23, 2021

If you or your department is responsible for the management and/or reporting of unclaimed property to the state, then I feel your pain. It’s a necessary and sometimes daunting task.  Compliance is extremely important, but let’s face it….how much time are you currently spending on managing the entire unclaimed property reporting process?
 
If you’re not presently automating the process, it’s likely that you could be costing your company money in time and you may not be in compliance. Keep in mind that automating the process is not about replacing jobs, it’s about streamlining the process and helping your organization remain compliant, eliminating the need for additional headcount during busy reporting seasons.
 
Businesses have been reporting unclaimed property for years and many of them have never understood the possible impact to their bottom line.  What is a major pain point for many organizations, costing thousands of dollars? LABOR… While we all might realize this, it’s difficult to see in non-production environments where we may lack the proper tracking metrics. It’s easier to examine labor costs in a manufacturing facility based on the direct output of products, but how do you effectively track when it comes to compliance and reporting? For instance, the task of measuring an accounts payable department is usually done by assigning much work to the employees until you see an upsurge in overtime. When it’s noticed, the company usually just adds an additional employee or something doesn’t get done. Have we fixed the problem or have we added to it? Band-aids only cover the issue so it doesn’t get dirty, unfortunately, it won’t permanently fix the problem.
 
2018 is the perfect time to start evaluating your internal compliance processes. There’s no need to endure financial pain or open yourself to unnecessary audits if you don’t need to. 

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Author

Sherry Hale

Sherry Hale assists in managing sales and marketing initiatives. Sherry has a degree in Marketing, Business Management, and HR Management from Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In her free time, she loves spending time with family, volunteering with animal rescue, playing with her own rescue pets, and riding her Harley.
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