Two readers wrote they had received audit letters and were expecting auditors momentarily. Needless to say, they were less than happy about the matter but looking to prepare themselves for the encounter.

The third was a happier note and asked for our readers' input. Here it is.

I received two letters in the mail today and I thought I would share them with you. It looks like corporations are really starting to get on board with their escheatment practices.

Both letters have referenced checks that were mailed to our company, but are still outstanding on their reconciliation. One letter states that if we don't respond within 30 it will be reported to our State's Unclaimed Property Division. What do you think of this practice? I've been doing something similar by contacting the vendor directly to see if they have received our checks.

I appreciate the letter, because it means there is a little money coming to my company. This is the very first time I'm seeing a letter like this, but I'm sure it's not going to be the last. Let me know if you have hear of anyone else receiving something similar.

I'd love to hear from both readers employing this practice and those who've received such letters. Please send your comments to publisher@ap-now.com and I'll share the results with all who comment.

I hope to meet some of our readers concerned about their Unclaimed Property issues at our Cincinnati and Los Angeles seminars. If you need a hotel room for an overnight stay, please reserve soon as the block releases about one month before the event. Of course, if you don't need a room for an overnight stay, you can sign up until the day before.

On Wednesday we'll hold our Cleaning Up the Master Vendor File webinar. I just got Rich Lanza's portion of the presentation and it looks good. In addition to the handout and two Excel files, each attendee will also get a pdf document explaining the process in detail. These three items will be sent with the evaluation link after the event - and of course will be included for those who purchase the CD.

By the way, if you need an invoice for this or any AP Now event, simply send a note to publisher@ap- now.com and we'll send you one by return email.

I love the autumn; in fact it is probably my favorite time of the year. Unfortunately, for many of our readers, it also means B-Notices. And, B-Notices are something you simply cannot afford to ignore. We're very pleased that Cyrus Daftary, an attorney specializing in tax issues, has agreed to return and share his considerable expertise on this matter.

As you may realize, we take obliterating duplicate payments very seriously here at Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow. I am very concerned that the advances being made today in accounts payable will result in an uptick in duplicate payments. It's almost as though for every two steps forward we make, we invariably take a step back.

To address that issue we are in the process of creating a Duplicate Payment Resource Center for all professionals concerned about the issue. It will be online and free for all. It will contain articles, diagnostic tools for your own use as well as links to resources. A number of vendors are working with us on this endeavor. It is scheduled to launch October 1, if not sooner. I'll have more details in future weeks.

And, of course, as part of the Obliterate Duplicate Payments thrust, we are scheduling a series of webinars in October. You can sign up for one or the whole series. While we unfortunately cannot make that series available at no cost, those who sign up for all four, will only pay for three.

Career Tip:In addition to the continued references for customer service skills mentioned last week, many of the listings require knowledge of Excel. This should not come as a surprise to anyone reading this. Many organizations periodically offer classes in Excel. If your skills in using Excel are only rudimentary, you might consider taking a refresher course. Next week, as part of this career center, we'll have some links to online Excel tutorials that are free.

This Week's Job Listings

• Accounts Payable Supervisor
• Accounts Payable Supervisor
• Accounts Payable Supervisor

In addition to the job listings, the following were the issues that most of our readers were interested in.

• Master Vendor File webinar
• Order John Wiley & Sons books at a 15% discount (Wiley link bottom of page)
• AP Now's Obliterate Duplicate Payment Webinar series

For Accounts Payable Appreciation week, we'll have a handful of books to give away, along with a gift certificate for Barnes & Noble. To sign up for the drawing, send a note to publisher@ap-now.com with the words AP Appreciation Week in the subject line - and PLEASE include your mailing address in the body of the note. More details next week. Until then,

Thanks for listening.
Mary Schaeffer
Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow, a CRYSTALLUS Inc. publication

CRYSTALLUS, Inc, publisher of Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow, is a woman-owned business and is registered as a Federal Government CCR vendor.