Many CFOs face financial crises sometime in their careers. Then, there is a special class of turnaround experts who in a matter of a few years can remake a finance operation under a new regulatory regime, contribute to the strategic vision of a company and win over skeptical investors. Treasury & Risk Management chose three CFOs who not only overhauled their company's balance sheets, but did so while juggling the raft of recent federal regulations and rules.

JEFFREY SERKES, CFO, ALLEGHENY ENERGY INC.It's not every new CFO who must spend his first day on the job in the Washington offices of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but that's where senior vice president and CFO Jeffrey Serkes found himself in July 2003.

On the table was a $300 million hedge fund-backed investment for Serkes' new employer, Allegheny Energy Inc.– pretty much the only thing standing between survival and default.