Member

All this was able to take place because information on financial structuring and debt accumulation lurked, if at all, in the back pages of large and complex annual reports. I recently read the most recent annual report of one water company which has financial engineering and debt issues. There was no reference to that in the chairman’s report or in the chief executive’s report—surely, the two people who should take ownership of such matters. Finally, more than 100 pages in, I found a single line in the financial report that stated just one figure as the amount of debt. In subsequent discussions with the Minister’s team, I was presented with what was felt to be a better annual report from another water company. On a page heavy with small print, there was indeed a small diagram of its ownership structure, but where was this? It was on page 108.