Unclaimed property compliance is a year-round activity. But so is unclaimed property recovery.
Amounts owed to you (unclaimed property) can go unclaimed for a myriad of reasons. A company could have moved locations. They may have changed their process or contact point for payment receipt. A check could literally be lost in the mail. Once those items are lost and go unreconciled, they turn into unclaimed property. Unclaimed property can be funds held by a state/jurisdiction resulting from statutory escheat requirements or they can be outstanding balances held by a government entity (that may never be escheated) until you or your organization come forward.
State unclaimed property departments are holding billions of dollars, some of which can be found by going to state websites. Other government entities, from municipalities to federal agencies, are also holding significant amounts owed to companies. However, this information is often not made available via public websites and can be difficult to obtain.