A new report commissioned by CCW released today provides timely and much-needed evidence on how customers understand and experience financial information published by water companies.

The report The Bottom Line: Helping customers understand water company finances – shows that media coverage, not company information, shapes most perceptions, especially on profits, dividends, debt, executive pay, and environmental performance.

At a time when customers across England and Wales are facing rising water bills, increased scrutiny of company performance, and growing concern about environmental outcomes, transparency over how water companies use customers’ money has never been more important.

CCW says that too often, financial reporting in the water sector is designed with regulators, investors and technical audiences in mind - yet customers are the ones who fund the system through their bills and whose trust underpins the legitimacy of the sector.

The qualitative research study examines customers’ views about what financial information they want from water companies, why they want it, and how they prefer to receive it.

Key findings from the research include:

• Customers want greater financial transparency, but find current reporting inaccessible, overly technical, and aimed at investors rather than bill payers.
• Media coverage, not company information, shapes most perceptions, especially on profits, dividends, debt, executive pay, and environmental performance.
• Trust is critical: low trust increases scepticism, while high trust leads to disengagement unless issues arise.
• Simple communication works best - plain English, visuals, and ‘where your bill goes’ summaries outperform detailed reports.
• Customers want clear links between money and outcomes (bill rises, local investment, service reliability, environmental improvement), ideally independently validated.

The research shows that while customers recognise the importance of transparency, much of the information currently available does not meet their needs. It can feel inaccessible, overly technical, and disconnected from what matters most to them – whether their money is being used fairly, effectively, and to deliver tangible improvements in service and the environment.

Findings highlight a critical gap

Customers rarely engage directly with financial reports; instead, their perceptions are shaped by media coverage, public debate and personal experience. Media coverage, not company information, shapes most perceptions, especially on profits, dividends, debt, executive pay, and environmental performance.

Where trust is low, financial information is scrutinised more closely – but not always with clarity or confidence. Where trust is higher, engagement is limited unless prompted by issues such as bill increases or service failures. This means that the way financial information is communicated can either reinforce trust or deepen scepticism.

According to CCW, This evidence is therefore essential for informing the next phase of regulatory and sector reform. As expectations increase around accountability, affordability and environmental delivery, it is no longer sufficient for companies to publish financial information – they must make it meaningful. Customers want clear, plain-English explanations, transparent links between money and outcomes, and honest engagement with difficult issues such as dividends, debt and executive pay.

CCW says:

“For policymakers, regulators and companies, this report provides a clear direction. Improving financial transparency is not simply a matter of compliance; it is fundamental to rebuilding trust and ensuring that customers feel confident in how their money is being used. By grounding future reforms in robust customer evidence, we can move towards a water sector that is not only transparent, but also accountable, understandable and fair.”

Click here to download The Bottom Line research report