About Payment Integrity Partners
Our Approach
Partnership
We customize specific audit solutions for each client. Our team recognizes that while retailers share many similarities, each has unique needs that must be addressed for a successful audit engagement. In our varied experience, we have provided the most benefit to clients by conducting primary, or “first pass,” reviews of accounts payable and merchandise activity.
One size does NOT fit all. When it comes to analyzing and improving YOUR unique business we apply a customized solution. Our proprietary tools and the identification of each claim type is designed to fit the specific engagement.
We communicate with all parties. If you are looking to start a new audit program, we are ready to introduce the program and its objectives to your merchandising and supplier partners. Once the engagement begins, we communicate with merchandisers and suppliers as they need additional support. Throughout the entire process we keep stakeholders informed on audit revelations and progress on a regular basis that is determined by our client.
We value our client – supplier relationships. We take great care in all interactions with supplier partners. Our goal is to enhance the communication and shore up the integrity of their financial agreements.
Our Values
Start With The Customer
Bring Solutions
Win-Win
Be Data Driven
Our Leadership
Rich Schalabba
Founder & CEORich has more than 20 years of experience in recovery audit, and has developed audits for clients in grocery, mass merchandise, chain drug and home improvement. He founded Payment Integrity Partners to offer his acute focus on results and his personal style of customer service directly to clients. He believes that most firms miss the mark when it comes to delivering the recoveries and insights that clients deserve.
For Rich, strong client relationships are the foundation for the work he does to improve audit services and outcomes. He has overseen large portfolios of client business for some of the largest firms in the industry. He also developed primary and secondary audits for new clients who had not previously had secondary audits performed, or who previously had relationships with long-standing audit firms. In addition to developing audits across the country, Rich has also been instrumental in providing assistance in client efforts to retain electronic email for legal and post audit purposes; establishing an accounting practice for accruing dollars on audit claims not yet processed; analyzing merchandising strategies; and developing post-audit guidelines.
Over the course of his career, Rich has worked with clients including: Costco, Walgreens, Delhaize Group (Food Lion), Family Dollar, Harris Teeter, ACE Hardware, True Value, BI-LO, Giant Eagle, W.W. Grainger, Merchants Distributors, Lowes Foods, Belk, Institution Food House, Roses, North West Company and Giant Tiger.
His clients have recognized his success, consistently promoting his teams from the secondary audit to the primary audit position. His methods and comprehensive approach have uncovered millions of dollars in previously uncollected funds due to clients.
Karl Erickson
Chief Information OfficerKarl is the co-founder and CIO of Payment Integrity Partners, and brings with him over 25 years of in-depth experience in the retail sector in a multitude of IT-related roles. His deep knowledge of both the business and technology aspects of the retail industry have allowed him to positively drive increases in productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction throughout his career.
His mission is to enable our internal teams with technology, through which we provide increased value to our clients. His scope of responsibilities includes overseeing all aspects of IT strategy, information security, architecture, data, and analytics across the company in support of the growth of PIP’s business by partnering with the company’s business units on IT and analytics-related efforts.
Karl is passionate about team building, and believes that the secret to stellar teams that deliver above and beyond is to hire the right people, create and embody a shared vision, and then provide the team with the freedom to collaborate, thrive, and deliver their best for the company and our customers.
Jonathan M. Puleo
Director of Audit OperationsJon leads and executes the Audit Operations and Strategic Planning areas for Payment Integrity Partners. With over 22 years of strategic operations, executive training, and compliance/recovery audit experience, Jon is passionate about partnering with, and delivering quality solutions for, our clients.
Over the course of his career, Jon has managed multiple operational and financial audits for some of the largest retail clients within the industry. He has experience in strategic planning, data mining, attestation, CRM, management control implementation, process improvement, accounting risk management, and SOX compliance, as well as supervisory management and coaching/mentorship of junior team members.
His experiences include performing as Audit Director over multiple clients in the New England region, where he helped discover a number of new recovery categories around club cards, coupons, and DSD areas. He was also a key driver in expanding audit roles and scopes for large retailers in the Midwest region – recovering millions of previously un-recovered funds.
At Target, he partnered with the finance organization to conduct training modules for the internal audit team. At Wegman’s Food Markets he was instrumental in the development of ERP integration systems. And with the U.S. Army, he was the Director of Internal Review supervising 150 audit reviews over an 18-state region.
Jon also holds a Department of Defense (DOD) security clearance and credentials as a Senior Auditor for the Army Audit Agency (AAA). Within this role, his experience involves training management, risk mitigation, management controls, compliance, protocol, and procedures regarding contract compliance, expenses and operational risk.
Jon stands for Trust, Common Understanding, and Integrity.