Annual Reports
Utility companies face relatively similar issues relating to sourcing the commodity, providing it to customers, and maintaining the relevant infrastructure (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2008). Some companies in this industry handle commodities that cannot be stored like others. The regulatory environment of utility companies requires the filing of annual financial reports that provides insights into financial performance. JEA and California Water Service Group are examples of companies operating in the utility industry that create annual financial reports for their performance. This paper examines the financial reports of these two companies to determine the approaches they adopt to present their annual performance. The goal of the analysis is to demonstrate how companies in the same industry employ different approaches in financial reporting and use different formats for their annual reports.
Approach to Presentation of Annual Performance
JEA is a utility company located in Jacksonville, Florida with the goal of providing reliable services by ensuring customers demands for electricity, water, and sewage services are met. The main focus of JEAs present annual report is to highlight financial performance in two major areas i.e. electric and water and sewer. The report provides insights into the firms operations in these two business segments in light of the impact of COVID-19 on its operations. The company highlights its annual performance in light of the creative solutions it employed to ensure customers continued to receive the needed essential services amidst the coronavirus global pandemic (JEA, 2020). The annual report presents information and data in a clear and succinct manner through...
Information and data in this annual report are presented with the aid of relevant tables and figures for specific financial statements.
California Water Service Group is a utility company that focuses on providing high-quality water and wastewater services to over 2 million people (California Water Service Group, 2020). The companys annual report primarily focuses on highlighting financial performance in light of strategies employed to provide water and wastewater services to customers amidst COVID-19. Unlike JEA, this annual report only focuses on the core business of California Water Service Group i.e. water and wastewater services. Moreover, the approach to presenting annual performance by this company differs from JEA in the sense that the report includes comprehensive information on strategies employed to take care of...
…discuss its results. The use of these conventional financial statements has enhanced the quality of information being presented. These statements make it easier for the reader to understand the various aspects of the firms financial performance for the 2020 fiscal year. Therefore, JEA has seemingly used a better format and organization of its annual report to enhance the information being presented.
In conclusion, financial reporting is a relatively complex process for businesses including those in the utility industry. JEA and California Water Service Group are examples of companies operating in the utility industry. As evident in this discussion, companies within the same industry can employ different approaches to discuss annual performance. These companies have presented financial information in their annual reports in a clear and succinct manner. Both companies have centered their financial reporting on the strategies they adopted amidst COVID-19 global pandemic. However, California Water Service Group included a historical review of its return on investments. While the two firms have used a relatively similar format and organization of the annual reports, JEA has relied on conventional financial statements that have enhanced the quality of information being presented, unlike California Water Service…
