This publication outlines key requirements and recommendations for establishing and further developing a corporate treasury function. It aims to support companies in managing treasury activities and processes in a secure, compliant, and efficient manner, to prevent liquidity shortfalls and deficiencies in financial risk management, and to position treasury as a central element of corporate governance.

While these principles are not legally binding, they are presented with a structured prioritization and are strongly recommended as best practice. The guidelines acknowledge that every corporate treasury is unique and must be tailored to the company’s specific business activities in terms of type, scope, risk profile, and complexity.

Developed by a working group composed of representatives from all expert committees of the VDT, this guide—alongside the Paper „Definition of Treasury”—serves as a foundational reference within the VDT framework. Compared to earlier editions, The Guiding Principles of Corporate Treasury has been kept deliberately concise and is intended to be complemented by additional function-specific guides and best practice recommendations from the VDT’s expert bodies.

Given the dynamic nature of the economic environment and its impact on corporate treasury, the working group recommends reviewing and updating the guidance documented in this publication regularly—at least every three years.

Note: The original German version of the publication “Mindestanforderungen an das Unternehmenstreasury” is available [here].