Unclaimed property reporting (i.e., property such as voided checks or stale, dated credits that have not had owner activity for a certain amount of time) is one of the least recognized or understood compliance requirements that companies face today. All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands require businesses to report and remit unclaimed property annually in accordance with state law. Businesses that ignore this requirement risk falling prey to time-consuming audits as well as significant interest and penalties. See this article for additional information on unclaimed property reporting requirements.

In addition to being subject to enforcement actions by states with unclaimed property laws, businesses that fail to file the required reports are also exposing themselves to so-called whistleblower cases or qui tam lawsuits, under which a private individual (typically a former employee) can initiate proceedings under a jurisdiction's False Claims Act. The individual filing suit (referred to as the relator) stands to gain 15%-25% of the amount that the government recovers.

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