The Tao Zhu Gong Awards are designed to recognise true excellence and innovation in treasury and finance by companies operating in mainland China. Tao Zhu Gong (Lord Taozhu) was a businessman and sage from the 5th Century BC. His 12 golden rules and 12 golden safeguards are wise principles that remain relevant to the modern treasurer.
Each award category acknowledges achievement in a key aspect of the treasury role – from liquidity management and funding, through to supply chain finance and best application of technology. There is also an overall award for Top Treasury Team/Treasurer of the Year. The awards are presented every March at an exclusive ceremony in Beijing.
Categories
A company can be nominated for a maximum of three award categories. Banks and other service providers can nominate a maximum of three corporate clients per category. One per category is preferred. (Please get permission from your client before you nominate them.)
- Top Treasury Team of the Year
This treasury team/individual will have shown a real sense of drive and determination and true agility. This will also be demonstrated in the way the finance function has managed to raise its profile through effective communication both inside and outside the organisation. This award acknowledges the people who have made the most contribution across the board. - Best Cash Management
Has your organisation made tangible improvements in this area? This solution could range from improving data visibility through to implementing cash pooling, or even improving reporting on cash. Your team could have shown excellent adaptability to new regulations or strides to getting better returns on surplus cash. The award will be won by the best multi or single bank liquidity and cash management solution. - Best Working Capital Management
These are key processes in your business. Has your company implemented a solution that has improved any areas along the cycle from order-to-cash, purchase-to-pay and forecast-to-fulfilment? Have you put in place a good supplier finance programme, improving the way information flows around your company’s supply chain to tangible working capital management improvements? - Best Supply Chain Finance Management
Supply chain finance can help smooth the financing of transactions. Often, the smallest suppliers can gain benefits from the credit position of the larger members of the chain. Both domestic and/or across global supply chains, supply chain finance best practice can be win-win for all parties. The top solutions offer the best costs and reliability to all parties. Risk identification and management is key – whether it be trade finance, foreign exchange risk and funding. This award winner will be one where the benefits of sharing are most apparent. - Most effective use of IT
Many companies have had to cut their budgets, and spending on technology has been hit hard. However, doing more with less shows excellence in this category. Has your company put in place a new ERP system or a TMS? Has your company used your existing IT to best advantage to improve cash management or to help support the supply chain? In this category, the solution that shows best practice or innovation led by technology will be the winner. - Top Funding Solution
It isn’t easy raising funds in the current market environment. Every treasury is on the look-out for alternative sources of finance. Have you found different avenues for raising funds? This category looks at both single fund-raisings and changes to your overall capital structure. What instruments have you tapped? Have you been flexible and opportunistic as new windows open (and shut). This solution could be commercial paper, longer term funding or funding from any other source. Tell us your story. - Most Innovative Treasury Solutions
Your treasury department has a lot to be proud of. It has launched an initiative that has really made a difference. Perhaps it has improved processes that have really paid off in terms of their environmental impact or effect on costs. Perhaps you’ve implemented a team initiative that has really bonded your treasury as a group. Maybe you have improved your recruitment processes that really paid dividends. Let us know about the innovations in your treasury practice. - Top Outsourcing Story/Shared Services Story
Your company has achieved optimal practice in its operations through outsourcing certain processes. That could be either to a third party or via a shared service centre for finance. Whether it be collections, payments factories or any financial processing, any outsourcing story can be considered in this category. That is as long as it reflects best practice or shows true striving towards improvement in your treasury operations. - Best Finance Company
Acting as the in-house bank of the group, your finance company has managed to cut finance cost significantly, improve efficiency, control and visibility. As a non-banking financial institution, your finance company is actively participating in the inter-bank markets and is part of the decision-making process for strategic financing and investments. This award acknowledges the excellence of the winner who fully exerts the function of the finance company. - Top Local or Global Banking Solution
This category awards the best in bank relationship management. You may have looked at the optimal balance between international and domestic banks. Changing or improving your bank relationships requires real finesse and teamwork. Perhaps you have had to rethink all your banking strategies. Perhaps you have made small changes for maximum gain. Have you streamlined your bank relationships? Have you consolidated them or even have you expanded them and found a better way of managing them? - Top Strategic Process Re-engineering
In all areas treasury departments are striving to improve their processes in order to gain efficiency. Maybe you have made wholesale changes in your strategic processes. Have external events prompted a total change in your processes? There may have been a merger and you have used the opportunity to re-evaluate all your work practices. This award goes to the boldest and the best. - Best SME Financing/Cash Solutions
SME financing has been facing a bottleneck. However, with the deepening of the market-oriented interest rate reform and a shift in the focus of banking services, services for SME cash management and / or financing are getting more and more mature. With this award, we hope to highlight SMEs and banks cash management solutions or financing options in the implementation of advanced cases and innovation.
How to enter: Guidelines and tips
Entrants must send a clear explanation as to why they should win the category/categories. Please use the application form provided and keep the length of your answers within the limits. Any commercially sensitive information in the entry should be marked as such and will not be publicised by the judging panel. Please note, however, that the judges will not find it possible to present an award to an entrant that does not offer an adequate amount of publishable material.
We are looking for a good narrative that shows how a treasury has adapted to the extremes of market volatility. That means there aren’t any checklists or lengthy submissions. We don’t want check-boxes, because that’s not your kind of treasury. What we are looking for is a compelling story which can excite our interest and has proven to be problem-solving, with concrete examples.
Winner’s entitlement
The winner of each category will be entitled to publicise themselves in perpetuity as the “Winner of Taozhugong Awards 2018 – X (the name of the category)” and to use the appropriate logo.
Judging process
The judging panel will comprise members of the EuroFinance editorial team and independent judges. Their decision will be based purely on merit. The judging panel’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into with unsuccessful entrants other than to advise them of the results of the awards. Entrants will be notified whether they have won or been shortlisted as soon after the closing date as a thorough judging process allows. Anyone considering entering these awards who has any questions about the rules or procedures may email chinaawards@staging.eurofinance.com.
Each nomination will be evaluated against one or more of the following quantitative measures and judged by an esteemed panel of treasury experts.
- Reduction in bank credit lines
- Reduction in bank charges
- Cost savings
- ROI
- Improvement in company credit rating
- Time taken to implement solution and realise benefits
- Productivity gains
- Process efficiencies
- Improvements in days sales outstanding (DSO)
- Improvements in days payable outstanding (DPO)
- Improvements in the cash conversion cycle (CCC)
- Improvements in days inventory outstanding (DIO)
- Yield enhancement
- Interest savings
- CP rating
- Pricing enhancements
- Foreign exchange gain(s)
- Risk removed/mitigated
- Recognised quality accreditation
- SixSigma methodology or similar
- Satisfies compliance requirement (eg. SoX)
Congratulations to the 2018 winners!
The 6th prestigious TaoZhuGong Awards Presentation Ceremony, which is organized by EuroFinance and acknowledges treasury excellence, was held in the Kerry Hotel in Beijing on the evening of March 20th 2018. The event was supported by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants as the exclusive strategic partner and sponsored by many banks.
The results of the 12 categories of the awards were decided by an independent third-party judging panel of experts through serious discussion. The judging panel took into consideration the nominees’ treasury management models and performance from 2017 to 2018 and corporate interviews. The Awards are meant to acknowledge capital management professionals’ achievement in liquidity management, financing, supply chain finance management and the use of IT.
Best Cash Management
Winner: Xinjiang Goldwind Science Technology Co., Ltd
Highly Commended: Deppon Logistics Co., Ltd
Highly Commended: China Molybdenum Co., Ltd
Highly Commended: Ant Financial
Best Finance Company
Winner: Sinochem Finance Co., Ltd.
Highly Commended: ZhuHai Huafa Group Finance co.,Ltd
Highly Commended: Sichuan Changhong Group
Best SME Fnancing /Cash solutions
Winner: Heytea
Highly Commended: United Transportation (Tianjin) Co.,Ltd.
Highly Commended: TCL Financial Holdings Group (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd
Best Supply Chain Finance Management
Winner: Philips (China) Investment Co., Ltd
Highly Commended: Samsonite (China) Co Ltd
Highly Commended: Guangdong Youyun
Highly Commended: Jiangsu Chezhibao Information Technology Co., Ltd
Best Working Capital Management
Winner: China Communications Services
Highly Commended: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Highly Commended: Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Finance Co., Ltd.
Highly Commended: SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile
Highly Commended: Spring Airlines
Most Effective use of IT
Winner: Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China,Ltd.
Highly Commended: Shanghai QijiaNetwork Information Science & Technology Co.,Ltd
Most Innovative Treasury Practice
Winner: Alibaba.com
Highly Commended: Cathay Pacific Airways Limited
Highly Commended: Aland
Highly Commended: China Eastern Airlines Co., Ltd.
Top Funding Solution
Winner: Ling Yuan Iron and Steel International Trading (HongKong) Co., Limited
Highly Commended: Sinopec Corp
Highly Commended: China Zhengtong Auto Services Holdings Limited
Highly Commended: China Southern Airlines
Top Local or Global Banking Solution
Winner: SITC International Holdings Co., Ltd.
Highly Commended: Volvo Cars (China)
Highly Commended: Surbana Jurong
Highly Commended: China Railway Finance Company, Ltd
Highly Commended: Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group
Top Outsourcing Story/Shared Services Story
Winner: Valeo
Highly Commended: Suzhou Littelfuse OVS Ltd
Highly Commended: China Eastern Airlines Co., Ltd.
Top Strategic Process Re-engineering
Winner: JoinPay
Highly Commended: Shandong Zhaojin Group Finance Co., Ltd.
Highly Commended: Zhejiang Supor Co., Ltd.
Top Treasury Team/Best Treasury of the Year
Winner: Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Co., Ltd
Highly Commended: Anheuser-Busch InBev NV
Highly Commended: China Southern Airlines
Highly Commended: Valeo
Highly Commended: Haier
