In November, when Anthony "Buddy" Piszel became Freddie Mac's executive vice president and CFO, he was accustomed to scandals. As the former CFO of Health Net Inc., he helped to turn around the $12 billion managed healthcare provider after a billing crisis.
If he could fix the financials of a troubled company in an industry struggling with heavy regulation and unpaid receivables, Freddie Mac reckoned he was just the man to help the government-sponsored mortgage guarantor emerge from an accounting scandal that forced it to upwardly restate more than $5 billion in annual earnings.
As Piszel sees it, the Freddie Mac debacle is a lesson in misplaced emphasis. The company, he says, tried to speed up accounting while simultaneously replacing accounting controls. "Our firm overemphasized front-office activities and underemphasized back-office functions," says Piszel. "We grew like a weed and then exploded."
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Critical Treasury & Risk information including in-depth analysis of treasury and finance best practices, case studies with corporate innovators, informative newsletters, educational webcasts and videos, and resources from industry leaders.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM and Treasury & Risk events.
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including PropertyCasualty360.com and Law.com.
*May exclude premium content
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
