State and Local Tax
2
Minutes to read
Understand the critical role of policies and procedures.
It is no secret that unclaimed property is a function nobody truly wants to own.
Many businesses ask: who should oversee this function? The Tax Department? The Controller? Shared Services? Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut answer.
This responsibility is often passed around like a hot potato as employees change jobs, companies merge, offices move, and system conversions are implemented. As a result, maintaining compliance becomes more difficult, and written policies and procedures must be developed.
There are several reasons for having properly developed policies and procedures:
While developing these processes can be time-consuming initially, the long-term benefits far outweigh any initial headaches.
Fraud is common within unclaimed property, so while it is important to establish a central point of contact, it is equally important to develop segregation of duties so that multiple people are involved.
This takes away the burden of an individual having too much responsibility. Teamwork is paramount, as unclaimed property deadlines must be met several times a year.
While your policies and procedures document will be unique based on your business needs, all documents should cover the following points:
Once your document is established, be sure to review the policies annually to capture unforeseen circumstances, such as a change in the company structure, accounting system conversions, and state law updates.
And who knows, maybe these policies and procedures can help the process to run so smoothly that unclaimed property won’t be such an unpopular subject! We can dream, right?
Need help establishing your company’s unclaimed property policies and procedures? Get started here.
We are a full-service management consulting and CPA firm covering all aspects of audit, compliance, risk management, accounting, finance, tax, IT risk, and more. Just let us know what you need help with and an expert will be in touch!
Request Your ConsultationClearview Group is an award-winning, dynamic management consulting and CPA firm offering services that are flexible and scalable to meet the specific needs of our clients of all sizes and industries. Committed to providing real solutions that offer practical and efficient improvements to processes, procedures and operations, Clearview Group delivers exemplary client services normally associated with national firms, but with the hands-on, personalized feel of a local firm.
11155 Red Run Boulevard, Suite 410
Owings Mills, MD 21117
410-415-9700
Name
1
Minutes to read