Mortgage giant Freddie Mac has hired a former health care finance executive to help heal the self-inflicted wounds of a multi-billion dollar accounting scandal.The chief financial officer of Health Net Inc., Anthony "Buddy" Piszel, will take on the same role at Freddie Mac in November. Piszel will replace Martin Baumann, who oversaw Freddie Mac's $5 billion earnings restatement before leaving the government-chartered company in March. Baumann recently began a new position with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
Based in Los Angeles, Health Net is among the nation’s largest publicly traded health care companies. Before joining Health Net in 2004, Piszel spent more than a decade with Prudential Financial Inc., helping the company transition from a mutual insurance company owned by policyholders to a public company. He started his career as an auditor with Deloitte & Touche and spent time as a fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
Though its restatement has been complete for two years, Freddie Mac has been unable to report its quarterly financial results on a regular basis, though it expects to be back on schedule next year and will resume work on registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has also said its internal controls have significant weaknesses that need to be addressed.
