Post-Audit Recovery: The Money You Forgot You Lost

Have you ever cleaned out your car or an old jacket and found a $20 bill you didn’t know you had? That tiny thrill—surprise money!—is exactly what post-audit recovery can feel like. Except instead of $20, it could be $200,000.

No exaggeration. That’s the scale of what many suppliers leave on the table when they don’t take post-audit recovery seriously. Retailers comb through records months—sometimes years—after a sale and issue claims for things like missed discounts or unfulfilled promotions. And here’s the thing: a huge chunk of those deductions go undisputed. Not because they’re valid. But because nobody’s watching.

Let’s be real: Those claims can slip through the cracks if you're running a busy finance team. They show up late, often with little context. You’ve moved on to the next quarter. And without a dedicated post-audit recovery process, you’re writing off revenue that rightfully belongs to you.

Here’s a fictional scenario: A mid-sized beverage brand—let’s call them “ClearFizz”—sells into three major retailers. Over two years, they rack up $420,000 in post-audit claims. Most of them are tied to promotional allowances that were already resolved. However, without a specialist tracking those claims, ClearFizz never disputes them. They assume the deductions are correct and quietly take the loss.

That’s not just an accounting error. That’s real money that could have gone into marketing, innovation, or bonuses for the team that made those sales possible in the first place.

Statistically, the numbers are wild. Across the CPG industry, it’s estimated that 5% to 15% of revenue is tied up in deductions. And of that, nearly 30% is recoverable—if you know where to look and how to act.

If you’ve never explored post-audit recovery before, now’s the time. That money may not jingle like coins in a pocket, but it adds up fast.

Want to know if you’re missing out on post-audit money? HRG can take a look and let you know. No pressure. Just insight.

Contact us