Earlier this month I noted (here) that for cash-strapped states, turning up the heat on unclaimed property audits is “basically a no-brainer because compliance with unclaimed property regs is so poor.”

A new poll from the Tax and Accounting Business of Thomson Reuters confirms that many companies are indeed out of compliance and, whether knowingly or not, are courting audit penalties.

The survey of executives in the energy sector revealed that only 56 percent of these companies currently file unclaimed property reports.

Few have gotten very far with even basic best practices: Only 42 percent have developed and implemented written policies and procedures related to unclaimed property compliance.

Many of the companies in the sample are incorporated in Delaware, which is “one of the more proactive” states in terms of audits, according to Thomson Reuters. Other states that are stepping up enforcement activities include New York, California, Texas, and Louisiana. ###