November 13, 2024 – Josh Wood, a longtime employee of the Arkansas Auditor of State’s office, was promoted to interim Assistant Chief of Staff and Unclaimed Property Operations Manager, effective Nov. 4.
Wood has been with the auditor’s office for 18 years, beginning as an unclaimed property customer service agent. For the past 13 years, he has directed the office’s Compliance Division, working to ensure that businesses are reporting their unclaimed property to the state. Milligan announced last week that compliance increased 33% from 2023 to 2024.
“Josh has shown exemplary dedication in his role as Compliance Director and always seeks ways to improve efficiency and increase reporting to our office,” Auditor of State Dennis Milligan said. “I’m grateful for his commitment to ensuring my office’s Compliance Division receives reports accurately and thoroughly so my Unclaimed Property team can work on getting these monies back into the hands of their rightful owners. Josh has played a significant role in my office’s successes over the past nearly two years and I’m excited to watch his talents progress in this new role.”
Wood is a member of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) and served as its Southern Region Vice President for the 2020-2021 term. He has attended and spoken at several seminars including those provided by NAUPA, the Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization (UPPO), Xerox, the Association of Arkansas Counties, the annual Arkansas Financial Continuing Professional Education Conference and others.
Wood received the UPPO Members’ Choice Above & Beyond Award in 2017 and the Committee Award for the NAUPA Audit Community in 2023. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from the University of Central Arkansas.
Wood said he is inspired by Vince Lombardi’s quote, which says, “Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”
“I have a goal to get it right when possible and attain excellence in all I do,” Wood said. “I want to live a life pleasing to God and praise Him for all things.”
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Dennis Milligan was elected Auditor of State in 2022. The Auditor’s office is responsible for ensuring payroll for more than 700 state government elected officials, prosecuting attorneys and deputy prosecutors. The office also administers the state’s Unclaimed Property program, The Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt. Learn more at https://auditor.ar.gov/.