The five-year anniversary of the global financial crisis is the perfect time to evaluate what has changed in finance since the fall of Lehman Brothers. One thing is certain: Every crisis that has followed has served as a stark reminder of the interconnected nature of our global financial system. For that reason, regulators around the world have begun implementing measures to improve transparency and risk mitigation, which are critical cornerstones of a new, modernized global financial system.

Smart treasury organizations are following suit, putting in place processes and tools they need to gain a holistic view of their risks across cash, debt, and investments. Risk is everywhere in treasury, and it is at the heart of why we are seeing a fundamental, transformative change in the treasury function. Over half (58.8 percent) of respondents in the Aberdeen Group's 2013 report Treasury and Risk Management: Top Financial Risks and Tools to Manage Them cited financial risks as the greatest market pressure they face today.

In the survey, Aberdeen defined “financial risks” broadly, including in the category commodity risk, counterparty risk, credit/liquidity risk, foreign exchange (FX) risk, cash location risk, cash forecast risk, operational risk, payment risk, settlement risk, sovereign risk, and reputational risk, among others. The breadth of risks within the remit of treasury is now so wide that the organization can no longer function properly if it maintains a singular focus on either cash-related or risk-related activities. Instead, treasury needs to develop a holistic perspective on risk across the enterprise. According to the Aberdeen survey, 30 percent of global companies are doing just that: They're developing the capabilities for integrated treasury and risk management.