The Bottom Line: Helping customers understand water company finances

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.

This report, commissioned by CCW, provides timely and much-needed evidence on how customers understand – and, crucially, how they experience – financial information published by water companies.

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.

This 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.

The 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. 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.

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.

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.

This report sets out the insights needed to achieve that shift.