While its Big Three competitors struggled, Ford's treasury filled up on cash when the markets were easy, which allowed the auto maker to reduce its debt without destroying shareholder value and steer clear of government loans.
Despite growing global uncertainty and instability, companies have yet to take the same formal and measured approach to political risk as they do to managing other exposures.
While funding and managing capital needs rule the day now, the future of treasury will be more about the power of information, speed and flexibility, and better technology.
New systems are often in the fast lane, increasingly robust in functionality and regularly adding enhancements, while many users are taking their time adopting new features.
