Congratulations to winner of 2023-2024 Credit Management Excellence Award (CMEA), Ms. Tiffany P.W. Wong, Chief Financial Officer of YTO International Express and Supply Chain Technology Ltd. The award was presented by Mr. Raymond T. W. Lam, winner of 2022-2023 CMEA, and Mr. Germany Heng, Vice Chairman of HKCCMA.

"The purpose of the CMEA is to recognize the achievements of an individual in the credit management industry. The winner is chosen based on five criteria  and is subject to approval from the Executive Committee of the HKCCMA."

Ms. Wong has over 20 years of experience in auditing, accounting and financial management. She is a non-practicing member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. During her tenure, she has been a great supporter of practicing credit management in her role. She has previously supported HKCCMA for being a panel judge of our Credit Practitioner of the Year Award. She has been our Corporate Member for over ten years and is very supportive of our events. In the past few years, the Association has taken notice of her extensive involvement in ESG practice. She is now serving as a Non-Executive Director as well as a Nomination Member of the ESG committee of listed companies.

Below is the text of the speech given by Ms. Tiffany P.W. Wong, on accepting this prestigious award.  

Hello everyone, I am Tiffany, CFO of YTO International. I was invited by HKCCMA to be a judge in year 2009 to year 2010. This year, I am delighted to receive the award of Credit Excellence. Thank you HKCCMA and Bobby. I always believe that credit management is a crucial part of business management. Good credit management helps companies reduce risks and ensures that transactions between enterprises are carried out stably and effectively. 

Credit management refers to granting credit to customers. It plays a vital role in the modern financial system. It is a manifestation of trust. Of course, credit also has its risks. Over-reliance on credit may lead to excessive debt, so we must use payment terms and conditions to enable customers to pay their bills on time. In other words, I think credit control management is a bridge that promotes business growth and long-term cooperation between companies and their customers. 

According to Allianz Trade, it was estimated that one-fifth of corporate bankruptcies are caused by customers default. Enabling customers to pay their bills in full and on time is an important part of credit control management. In this evening, I would like to share my two thoughts on credit control.

First, I think one of the key points of credit control is to understand customers' financial status proactively. Before reaching an agreement with customers, we must proactively understand customers' financial status and their credibility. Only when we understand customers' financial situation, can we judge how long the payment time limit should be. Of course, this will involve the impact of industry regulations and customer regulations, but proactively understanding customers' financial situation is basic. Only by understanding customers' financial situation, can we minimize unnecessary risks.

Another point to mention is to regularly review financial status and payment records of existing customers. As time changes, customers' financial status may change. Without regular financial review, we can't judge how long the payment time limit we should grant.

In addition, I would like to talk about the relationship between ESG and credit control management. As we all know, ESG is such a hot topic in recent years. I would also like to take this opportunity to talk about the relationship between ESG and credit control.

As ESG becomes increasingly important in investment decisions, customers' credit ratings may also be affected by their ESG performance. I think, by analyzing customers' ESG, we can recognize risks that cannot be identified in using traditional financial analysis.

Certain factors may ultimately affect the financial performance of a company. For instance, in E-environmental section, customers' and vendors' working environment, or carbon emissions may not meet government standards; In S-social section, customers or suppliers may encounter resource management defects and work right issues; In G-governance section, risk issues concerning board independence, shareholder rights and corruption may be found. I think these are perspectives we are apt to neglect in assessing customer credit, which greatly affect the credibility of a company. 

Finally, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our company credit control team. I cannot win this award without your support. Thank you all! Have a nice evening everyone.