As the global business environment becomes riskier and riskier, the job of the corporate treasurer grows ever more complex. As companies nurture relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees in far-flung parts of the world, hedging currency risks becomes increasingly complicated. When volatility appears in global financial systems, mitigating interest rate risks and ensuring uninterrupted access to funding become more challenging. And as regulations on financial services and other industries continue to evolve around the globe, treasurers are tasked with staying abreast of a wide range of geopolitical developments that might affect their organization's cash flow.

For these reasons—and many more—successful treasurers are no longer content to do their jobs in the same way they did in the past. Winners of the 18th annual Alexander Hamilton Awards in the category Cash Management & Liquidity Optimization illustrated this point. And this year's winners in the category FX & Financial Risk Management, sponsored by Strategic Treasurer and Kyriba, take management of complex financial risks even further.

"In the last five to 10 years, the world has become a much more complex place," says Dennis Tosh, director of global trading for Ford Motor Company. "Not only because of the financial crisis, but also because of increased capital regulations and the impact that has on the liquidity and pricing of derivatives trading."