Meet The Experts

Unmatched Team. Unmatched Results.

SAS has assembled a team of industry experienced professionals with a wide range of skills coupled with extraordinary depth and breadth of experience in the recovery auditing and transaction assurance fields. All of our associates are seasoned financial professionals with expertise in Accounts Payable, Procure-To-Pay, Supply Chain, Vendor & Item Master Files, and Transactional Analytics.

Our decades of recovery audit experience cover all verticals including Retail, Wholesale, Distribution, Healthcare and Manufacturing. It is this experience coupled with our proprietary recovery audit services, tools and process that is unparalleled in the recovery audit industry.

Meet Our Founders

Bob Carlino Headshot

Robert Carlino

Co-Founder/CEO

Robert Carlino played a major role in building recovery auditing into the prominent industry it is today. With more than 30 years of experience in recovery auditing, he is a recognized leader and innovator, with a unique range of expertise spanning both client and audit firm perspectives.

Prior to forming SAS, Bob served as Executive Vice President, US Operations for PRG-Schultz, the largest and only public recovery audit firm in the world and was instrumental in growing what was a 25-person company to a large corporation with 3000 employees and $500 Million in revenue. He was responsible for 70 percent of the company’s revenue and oversaw most of the US clients, the majority being Fortune 500 companies.

His 30-year track record and passion for the business was the driving force in creating SAS.

Together with his partner, Jeff Katz, they have created a business model that is state of the art and entirely customer centric.

Favorite Travel Spots

Greece, Italy and the Caribbean Islands

Hobbies

Monday night poker games, dabbling in hydroponics, bowling, billiards and, of course, spending time with our grandchildren

Jeff Katz Headshot 2023

Jeffrey Katz, CPA

Co-Founder/COO

Jeff Katz has an outstanding reputation in the audit recovery industry, built on 30 years of trust and success. His unique background and wide range of experience are unequaled, and he is recognized nationally as a recovery audit leader, strong manager, and provider of outstanding service to Fortune 500 clients across America.

Prior to co-founding SAS, Jeff served as VP-US Auditing Operations for PRG Schultz, the worldwide leader in recovery auditing. This position was created especially for Jeff, as a testament to his broad skill sets. He was responsible for budgeting and forecasting for all US accounts, technology and software oversight, development and implementation of best practices, daily audit operations, and staffing. Prior to this, he served as PRG Schultz’s VP-Managing Director, responsible for all accounts in the Northeast. Jeff originally joined the company as Audit Director for several large Northeastern retailers.

Together with Robert Carlino, Jeff has created a business that has an innovative and visionary approach to recovery audit. His “customer first” approach trickles down to every nuance of the business, both at an internal and external level. Nothing makes him happier than growing a strong relationship with a client, impacting their bottom line and guiding them to manage better internal controls.

Favorite Travel Spots

Caribbean Islands and Europe

Hobbies

Sports (watching and playing), volunteer work with synagogue, reading (especially historical novels)

Our Leadership

Chris Mindenhall

Chief Innovation Officer

Chris Mindenhall brings over 20 years of in-the-trenches Recovery Audit experience, excelling in multiple domains, including advanced data analytics, direct auditing, audit concepting, audit leadership, software/SaaS, and delivering exceptional customer experience and value.

Serving as our Chief Innovation Officer, his strengths are his individual commitment to each customer, drive to deliver consistent results that exceed expectations, devotion to his tribe personally and professionally, and relentless pursuit of the “next level.”

Chris recently joined our firm to head up our Transformation Office and Innovation Lab, initially focusing on the retail industry to capitalize on his extensive experience in building next-level spend analytics, insight, and optimization solutions.

Prior to joining SAS, Chris held leadership roles at SpendMend, PRGX, Cotiviti, and founded startups PROCOVERY and EComm Systems with relevant academics in Design Thinking at IDEO, Organizational Strategy and Technical Innovation at MIT, and Economics at LSE.

Favorite Travel Spots

NYC, Florence, Zermatt, and Key West where he plans to retire to sing and play guitar/piano for tourists on the “best sunset cruise ever”. (Ask for Captain Chaos).

Hobbies

Singing, guitar, and piano, laughing with family and friends, learning/reading, long-distance running, board/card games, and a recent addiction to pickleball.

Larry Crawley

Larry Crawley

Chief Technology Officer

Larry has thrived over the last 20+ years in the Recovery Auditing industry working in various roles on over 80 accounts, in 15 industries, spanning 3 different countries.  Starting as an auditor and working his way up to senior management, he has partnered with all levels of client leadership to provide industry leading superior audits.   He has led the creation, development, and execution of all internal audit tools. These tools consist of industry leading software our audit teams use to recover overpayments and under deductions daily.

Larry is also the lead architect of Strategic Audit Solutions AP Audit Tools:  DupeShield™, Statement Wizard™, and The Vault.  Professional Audit Tools designed for the identification of duplicate payments, execution of statement reconciliations, and claims management.  Now available for clients to use externally to recover lost profits on their own!

His area of expertise includes innovation, project management, strategy, mentoring, and assisting audits to implement best practices.  Including the development of new claim concepts that increase productivity and expand audit scope.

Industry experience includes:  Grocery, Pharmacy, Retail, Healthcare, Government, Wholesale, Publishing, Security Services, Restaurant’s, Recycling, Real Estate, Shipping, Energy, Hospitality and Software.

 

Favorite Travel Spots

Bermuda, Long Beach Island, N.J., and London

Hobbies

Travel, coaching soccer, camping

Amy Petrosini Headshot

Amy Petrosini

Senior Vice President, Business Development

Amy joined Strategic Audit Solutions in April 2024 as Senior Vice President of Business Development. She has been a recognized leader in the recovery audit industry for nearly 30 years, with most of her time spent building collaborative, trusted partnerships with her clients, and driving new business growth. Amy’s insights are integral to our go-to-market strategy and delivering on our promise of exceptional customer experience.

In this role, Amy oversees and is responsible for new business sales, primarily in the retail and commercial sectors, finding innovative solutions to help our clients overcome their operational challenges and accomplish their goals.

Prior to joining SAS, Amy had a long and successful career as a client service account executive, holding various operational, client management, and business development leadership roles at PRGX.

Favorite Travel Spots

Italy, Spain, Greece, Mexico… pretty much anywhere with deep culture, amazing food, and/or beautiful beaches!

Hobbies

Traveling to new destinations, cooking & entertaining, long walks/hikes with her husband and dog(s).

Lori Kissell

Lorri Kissell

Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Lorri  has worked in the Accounts Payable Recovery Audit industry for the past 17+ years. Her roles in Business Development and Client Service have created many successful projects and relationships.

Lorri continues her education through her relationships, and through professional associations. As a member of the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors, Lorri is an active participant on the Regional Conference Committee. She is the former Chapter President for The Institute of Financial Operations (IFO), and Accounts Payable professional’s organization. Additionally, she also served on the Board of Directors for the IFO.

The passion that she has for solving complex problems, and for working with clients to implement solutions surrounding lost profits, internal controls and process improvement, fit perfectly into what SAS is all about.

Favorite Travel Spots

Caribbean Islands – actually, most Islands

Hobbies

Atlanta Falcons Football, Atlanta Braves Baseball, working in the yard and mostly, any time spent with her daughter and son-in-law.

Jim Paolucci

Jim Paolucci

Vice President, Operations & Client Services

Jim has spent over 30 years in the Recovery Auditing industry in various leadership roles with experience in finance, accounting, operations, client relations, and business unit management. Prior to joining SAS, Jim served in various leadership roles for other Recovery Audit companies. Jim has partnered with the key decision makers for Fortune 500 and multibillion-dollar companies including retail in establishing and executing professional services in the areas of recovery auditing, consulting, advisory, risk mitigation, operational improvements and business process outsourcing.

Favorite Travel Spots

Nothing like the beach! Big fan of Hilton Head Island

Hobbies

Spending time with family and friends, Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holder for 30 years, enjoy golfing (although my game needs a makeover) and regular volunteer work.

Stephanie Hodge

Vice President, Human Resources

Stephanie has 25 years of global HR and Consulting experience leading teams in North America, Canada, and South America.

Stephanie is known as a transformational leader with experience in performance management, talent development, and strategic HR management. Stephanie’s philosophy is to help businesses develop and execute strategies that achieve organizational success, through the development of their people. Stephanie enjoys aligning people strategies that support business goals, adding a personal touch, by utilizing her HR expertise to resolve business challenges.

Stephanie is a certified professional in human resources (PHR), holds a Master’s degree in Organization and Management; and is doctoral candidate in Business Administration. Stephanie is a faculty member for the Non-Profit University (GA Center for Non-Profits), and guest lecturer for Georgia State University.

Favorite Travel Spots

Paris, France, the Caribbean Islands, and Sandestin, FL.

Hobbies

I love to travel and spend time with my family. I’m interested in motorcycles, bowling, and I regularly participate in volunteer work.

Our Experts

Bryan Crimin

Bryan Crimin

Senior Operations Director

Bryan Crimin is a veteran in the Recovery Audit industry, with 38+ years of experience. Bryan is an expert in retail recovery auditing having worked on audits for 7 of the top 10 retailers nationally. He has audited and/or managed the audit for the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, the largest online retailer, and the largest warehouse club operator.

Bryan has also audited or managed recovery audits internationally in 30 unique industries including Oil & Gas, Utilities, Mining, Transportation and Motion Pictures. Bryan’s strengths are in audit start-ups and utilizing his deep industry knowledge as well as, the identification and development of innovative audit approaches & new claim types.

Over his career, he has authored several industry white papers, served on multiple steering committees, and was a regular presenter at industry events.

Favorite Travel Spots

Hawaiian Islands, Lake Powell (UT/AZ) where he has enjoyed houseboating with his family since his teenage years

Hobbies

Professional sports fan (A’s, Raiders, Vegas Golden Knights), Adventure sports (Cliff Diving, Rappelling, Para-Sailing, Sky Diving), and Open Water Swimming where he has competed in the 1.7 mile Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim among other events.

Linda Oneufer

Linda Oneufer

Audit Director

Linda has over 25 years of experience in Accounts Payable including over 12 years of experience in the Recovery Audit field. This experience has provided her with a solid understanding of the Accounts Payable recovery process and experience with various systems and methods of recovery.

Her background gives her a strong understanding of all aspects of Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable, from procurement through payment and on into the recovery audit process.

For 10 years Linda was the Accounts Payable Manager for Rite Aid Corporation. During her tenure she was an integral part of building their in-house Accounts Payable system, incorporating purchasing, receiving and item management systems. Linda also spent 5 years as an Accounts Payable Process Specialist for Royal Ahold USA, gaining invaluable knowledge of best practices in the retail accounts payable field, including the warehouse, store and expense payable areas.

Favorite Travel Spots

Enjoy traveling within the US, the goal is to visit all 50 states finding the beauty each has to offer.

Hobbies

An avid reader, collect specialty porcelains, enjoy antiquing, quiet walks and nighttime in the mountains. I spend a great deal of time with my rescue dogs and enjoy any time spent with my adult son!

Mitch Blau

Mitch Blau

Director, Healthcare Auditing

Mitch Blau has built a reputation of trust and dependability over more than 20 years of experience in Accounts Payable Audit, Recovery, and Consulting for healthcare systems. Beginning with his family owned firm, and then working for one of the industry leaders, Mitch has gained unique knowledge and experience on AP Best Practices in large health systems. He truly enjoys sharing his knowledge, experience and insights with his clients.

Mitch’s areas of expertise include accounts payable, purchasing, ERP systems, data analysis and vendor relations. He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients throughout his career and has prevented hundreds of millions in future losses by identifying system weaknesses and recommending process improvements.

Mitch is the Secretary for the New Jersey Chapter of The Institute for Financial Operations (aka: IFO), an Accounts Payable professional association. Mitch holds the association’s highest certificate, CAPP – Certified Accounts Payable Professional.

Favorite Travel Spots

Martha's Vineyard, MA

Hobbies

Fishing, Tennis, and Cooking

Taffy Davidson Headshot

Taffy Davidson

Director of Audit Innovation

With a vast career in the post audit industry spanning 25 years, Taffy brings experience in all sectors of retail and commercial. Her ability to decipher data, understand relations and her unique audit insights have earned international respect. Throughout her service with PRGX, Cotiviti and APEX, she has successfully led the development of audit applications for DSD, WA Distribution, Returns and Allowances that serve as best practice models. Her attention to detail, drive for excellence and focus on customer service has been recognized throughout the industry, winning awards for customer service, innovation of audit and creation of new and expanded concepts.

With an understanding of both P2P and Merchandising philosophy, merchants have sought her counsel beyond the recovery process and she has hosted roundtable discussions with companies from various industries.

In addition to her work in the US, Taffy led the implementation of multiple international internal audits, has worked in Costa Rica along internal and outsourced shared service divisions and has led teams in India. Outside the audit industry, she served as Merchandise Finance manager – Electronics for Walmart Stores, Inc. Taffy lives in Bentonville, AR.

 

Favorite Travel Spots

London, Greece, Arenal (Costa Rica) and the shores of Lake Superior

Hobbies

Arguing with teenagers, real estate and reading

Nicole Scheib

Nicole Scheib

Senior Audit Manager

Nicole has over 20 years’ experience in the accounting field, 15 of those years were spent in the Audit Recovery field. She has sharply honed computer skills and strong knowledge of the accounting process. Hence, she can quickly manipulate the data to find errors. She has been with SAS for over six years.

Nicole also spent over 10 years at PRGX, both as an Analyst in the Quality Assurance department and as an auditor. In her analyst role, Nicole was an integral player in developing and implementing a new claims management system. This experience gave Nicole a great knowledge of the entire Post Audit Process, from meeting the client, to starting an audit, through claim generation, claim correspondence and claims management.

In her first role, Nicole was a Senior Cost Accountant for Nashua Corporation and MicroTouch Systems. Her financial planning, reporting and decision support for many different product lines. These years gave Nicole a great knowledge of the procurement process as she played an important role in make/buy, outsourcing, capital investment and capacity decisions.

Favorite Travel Spots

Any beach, and Disney World!

Hobbies

Biking, canoeing, yoga and playing board games with her family

Ann Rink

Ann Rink

Senior Audit Manager

Ann has 30+ years of experience in finance, procurement and internal audit. She also has an extensive background in Accounts Payable leadership and managing Recovery Audit partners.

Ann has over 20 years of experience at the country’s two largest grocery wholesalers, which aligns with SAS’s grocery client portfolio. During her career, Ann led her AP team through system implementations, acquisitions, creation of a Shared Services Center, and the development of a post-payment audit program.

As the client in many post audit relationships she learned and understood the value the correct partner can bring. Working together, with SAS as a partner, they created successful audit strategies which extended beyond the traditional duplicate payments to include freight and pricing compliance and many other avenues to recover monies.

Favorite Travel Spots

Ireland and the Caribbean Islands

Hobbies

Time with family, Reading, and Kayaking

Bryan Crimin

Bryan Crimin

Senior Operations Director

Linda Oneufer

Linda Oneufer

Audit Director

Mitch Blau

Mitch Blau

Director, Healthcare Auditing

Taffy Davidson Headshot

Taffy Davidson

Director of Audit Innovation

Nicole Scheib

Nicole Scheib

Senior Audit Manager

Ann Rink

Ann Rink

Senior Audit Manager

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