60 Formal reports may be self-standing reports on the enterprise’s human rights performance alone, part of a wider report on non-financial performance covering social and environmental issues or part of an integrated report on both financial and non-financial performance. If the enterprise is able to integrate reporting on human rights into its financial reports, with appropriate metrics, this can start to demonstrate that respecting rights is understood as truly integral to the business and relevant to its bottom line. Reports may be in hard copy, in electronic form or both (and these choices should reflect an awareness of the report’s accessibility to its intended readers). They may be produced periodically (annually or more frequently) or when a particular impact arises or both. Q 58. When is external communication required? If an enterprise identifies an actual or potential impact on human rights which the affected individuals or groups need to know about for their safety and welfare, this should be communicated to them as directly and quickly as possible. The enterprise should also inform them how it is seeking to address the impact. It should not await a request for such information before taking these steps. When an enterprise is challenged by external parties on how it is addressing its alleged human rights impact, it should consider whether and what it can reasonably communicate to address that concern. If the parties raising the challenge are themselves claiming to be directly affected or are the legitimate representatives of such individuals or groups, the case for direct communication is most compelling. A lack of communication carries risk for the enterprise and will often be taken to imply that the allegation is correct or that the enterprise does not have the processes in place to know and show that it is not involved in the alleged impact. There may be times when an enterprise concludes that an external party raising a concern lacks legitimacy and that it is not necessary or appropriate to respond. In the absence of any legal requirements, that is a judgement for the enterprise to make. Even if it chooses not to communicate in response to an allegation, it should take that decision based on internal knowledge of the situation and clear criteria.