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Since the early 1980s, currency options have become a popular means for hedging foreign currency positions or speculating on anticipated movements in exchange rates. Yet, they can also be used to enhance the forecasting of exchange rates. Corporate forecasts of exchange rates involve two tasks: (1) a point estimate of a currency's exchange rate, and (2) a confidence interval that suggests the degree of uncertainty associated with the point estimate forecast. A currency forward or futures price is often used as the point estimate required. The confidence interval is commonly developed by using the historical volatility of exchange rate movements. However, an alternative method is to use the market's anticipated volatility in developing the confidence interval. Scott and Tucker (1990) have shown that the volatility implied from contemporaneous currency option prices is a better forecast of future volatility than historical measures. Therefore, a confidence interval implied by currency options should also be more reliable. Our objective is to illustrate how confidence intervals can be developed from currency option information. Given the degree of difficulty in forecasting exchange rates, more reliable confidence intervals could greatly improve managerial decisions.

The 2007 BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity Report shows a substantial increase in turnover in foreign exchange and OTC derivatives markets. Turnover in traditional FX markets increased to reach $3.2 trillion. The largest contributor to this 71% increase between April 2004 and April 2007 occurred in FX swaps. It was like a prelude to the financial crisis of 2007–2008 driven by transactions carried out between banks and other financial institutions due to the significance of hedge funds and major engagement of emerging market currencies which have sought new configurations of portfolio diversification worldwide.

This study investigates foreign exchange risk management in major Finnish firms. The shift to a floating foreign‐exchange regime has increased risk aversion and intensified risk management in a number of firms. The managers feel they can forecast foreign exchange development, and that they have been successful in risk management. Managers pay attention to economic exposure, and instead of being closed out, the foreign exchange exposures are managed actively. The transaction risk of both agreed‐upon flows and budgeted items are hedged. Accounting exposures are also managed extensively.

Exposure risk managers can hedge exchange rate risk with either currency futures or currency options. It is generally suggested that hedgers should choose a hedge instrument that matches the risk profile of the underlying currency position as closely as possible. This advice, however, ignores the possibility that the hedging effectiveness may differ for the alternate risk management tools. This study compares the effectiveness of currency futures and currency options as hedging instruments for covered and uncovered currency positions. Based on Ederington's portfolio theory of hedging, the results show that currency futures provide the more effective covered hedge, while currency options (used to construct a synthetic futures contract) are more effective for an uncovered hedge. Hence, exposure risk managers do not have to sacrifice hedging effectiveness to obtain the desired risk profile. Corporations engaged in international business transactions are commonly exposed to exchange rate risk. Since management is concerned with currency exposure, it can hedge the anticipated exchange rate risk either with futures or options. The choice of the appropriate hedging tool is generally influenced by the type of currency exposure (transaction, translation, or economic risk), the size of the firm, the industry effect, the risk preference of the manager or the firm and his/her familiarity with the available financial instruments and techniques. It is also suggested that a hedger should choose a hedge instrument that matches the risk profile of the underlying currency position as closely as possible. Hence, futures contracts are more suitable for covered hedges, while option contracts are best used for uncovered hedges. Hedging effectiveness of these two hedge instruments must be considered as well in order to evaluate the cost of obtaining the desired risk profile. Some empirical research has shown that the futures contract provides both an appropriate risk profile and a more effective hedge than an options contract for covered positions. If these findings also hold for uncovered currency positions, then the hedging decision involves a trade‐off between the desired risk profile and hedging effectiveness. That is, a hedger would have to decide whether the extra risk protection afforded by the attractive risk profile of options is worth the loss in hedging performance. This study compares the hedging effectiveness of currency futures and currency options for both covered and uncovered positions. Ederington's risk‐minimizing approach is applied to estimate the hedging effectiveness and the least risk hedge ratios which, in turn, are used to assess the trade‐off between risk profile and hedging performance.

Auditors nowadays must be aggressive and involved in risk assessment and analysis. This paper identifies, analyzes, and recommends a solution to a current problem in accounting for foreign‐currency hedges. This is accomplished by an examination of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 133, Accounting for Derivatives Instruments and Hedging Activities, as issued in June 1998. Multi‐currency accounting is recommended as an alternative to functional‐currency accounting. The information generated by the multi‐currency versus the functional currency (as advocated in the SFAS 133) accounting methods for using options as hedging instruments is illustrated. Multi‐currency accounting excels in its transparency. It more clearly provides information on the respective exposure positions of the hedged items and the hedging instruments as well as the notional amounts. Auditors’ risk assessment and analysis can now be effectively performed under this system.

Controls on short‐term capital inflows or panic‐driven capital outflows may benefit emerging markets that have fragile financial sectors and adjustable‐peg currency regimes. However, the controls seen so far are relatively easy to evade, often complex and obscure, and supported by large corruptible bureaucracies. A tax on foreign‐exchange payments avoids these drawbacks. It is transparent, inexpensive to set up and operate, administratively lean, and easy to adjust. A Tobin tax in effect, it is enforceable even when applied unilaterally.

This paper investigates the motivations and practice of nonfinancial firms with regard to using options in their risk management activities.

The paper provides a comprehensive account of the existing empirical evidence and analyzes data on the use of derivatives in general and options in particular by nonfinancial corporations across different underlyings and countries.

Overall, a significant number of 15‐25 per cent of the firms outside the financial sector use options. This reflects the fact that options are very versatile risk management instruments that can be used to hedge various types of exposures, linear as well as nonlinear. In particular, options are a useful component of corporate risk management if exposures are uncertain, e.g. due to price and quantity risk. Depending on the correlation between price and quantity risk, the optimal hedge portfolio consists of a varying combination of linear and nonlinear risk management instruments. Moreover, the accounting treatment as well as liquidity effects can impact the choice of derivative. At the same time, there may be agency‐related incentives to use options because of their role to present dual bets on both direction as well as future volatility of the underlying.

The findings are important with regards to assessing whether the full potential of derivative financial instruments is being realized, since not all firms use these instruments and not all of them use all types and, more importantly, whether they are used appropriately.

The paper provides an up‐to‐date analysis of the motivations for nonfinancial firms to use financial derivatives in general and options in particular as well as comprehensively characterizes the extent of their use in practice.

This paper reports the results of an empirical study undertaken during 1988 into firstly the opinions of corporate treasurers in UK multinational corporations on the process of financial innovation and the relationship between the corporates and their banks in the context of this process, and secondly the use of financial innovations in the MNCs' management of foreign exchange risk. It concludes that in general treasurers were sceptical about financial innovations, and that the relationship between the corporates and their banks appeared to be going through a difficult phase reflecting the breaking up of traditional links between banks and their corporate customers. The findings on the use of financial innovations varied; while currency futures were not used at all by the MNCs, the treasurers tried out the use of currency options and swaps. A general conclusion was that the corporates' exchange risk management practices were short term orientated and innovations were incorporated into the day‐to‐day management of positions rather than into longer term strategic decisions.

This paper reports on the foreign exchange risk‐management practices among Ghanaian firms involved in international trade. The study focuses on how Ghanaian firms manage their foreign exchange risk and the problems involved in managing exchange rate exposure. It also seeks to ascertain the extent to which these firms use foreign exchange risk management techniques.

Descriptive statistics were used in the presentation and analysis of empirical results.

The results indicate that close to one‐half of the firms do not have any well‐functioning risk‐management system. Foreign exchange risk is mainly managed by adjusting prices to reflect changes in import prices resulting from currency fluctuation, and also by buying and saving foreign currency in advance. The main problems the firms face are the frequent appreciation of foreign currencies against the local currency and the difficulty in retaining local customers because of the high prices of imported inputs, which tend to affect the prices of their final products sold locally. The results also show that Ghanaian firms involved in international trade exhibit a low level use of hedging techniques.

The main value of this paper is the analysis of foreign exchange exposure management from the Ghanaian perspective. Relevant recommendations aimed at enhancing the foreign exchange risk‐management practices among Ghanaian firms are made. The paper is useful not only to firms involved in international trade, but also to financial institutions interested in providing hedging products to these firms.