CLP Group: explaining financial statements

August 19, 2009

After reviewing many corporate websites, I’m starting to think that USA based companies may be suffering from some groupthink. Maybe its the national regulations and laws, but I think it is simply US corporations “fear” of risks associated with innovation and creativity. Less so with non-USA companies; some of my past posts have highlighted a few. Now I would like to review CLP Group, one of the largest electricity investor-operators in the Asia Pacific region.

First, the About Us page has a welcome message from the CEO–

clpabout CLP Group: explaining financial statements

and there is a link to Resources Centre that contains a rich menu of references–

Publications (Just about any document you may want.)
Videos
Technical Papers (Very interesting.)
Useful Links
Photos and Images

Next, on the comprehensive Corporate Governance section there is this icon–

clp cg CLP Group: explaining financial statements

Click on it and it opens to a 15 page PDF (better if it was online) that is one of the most comprehensive and clear Corporate Governance reports I have seen.

CLP uses an innovative graphic to help readers navigate the Report–

clp framework CLP Group: explaining financial statements

Simply follow the colored lines to the related section of the Report. For example, follow the Nomination Committee that leads you to –

clp pdf CLP Group: explaining financial statements

Note also to the link to more information. Very user friendly.

Finally, I found an item that should be on any publicly traded corporate website. –

To keep ourselves at the forefront of financial disclosures and guide our shareholders and others towards a better understanding of CLP’s accounts, we are developing an “accounting mini-series” – How to Approach Our Financial Statements? to explain different accounting concepts and practices which apply to CLP’s financial statements. And we intend to continue in our efforts to provide our shareholders and other stakeholders with the information necessary for them to form their own judgement and provide feedback to us.

clp finance CLP Group: explaining financial statements This is a PDF; once again I would rather see this online with an option to download. Despite this, CLP has shown its intent to keep investors informed.

Good job CLP for a website that applies unique approaches to enhance stakeholder communications.

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Ed Konczal

Ed Konczal has an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business (with distinction). He has spent the last 10 years as an executive consultant focusing on human resources, leadership, market research, and business planning. Ed has over 10 years of top-level experience from AT&T in the areas of new ventures and business planning. He is co-author of the book "Simple Stories for Leadership Insight," published by University Press of America.