Clark said the Super XV franchise had been "kept up to date" about the Otago Rugby Football Union's financial woes, during its negotiations with affected partners.
He stressed the union and the franchise were separate entities "and we really don't have a lot to do with them except at management level, when it comes around to matches and development.
"But at a business level ... none at all."
Clark confirmed the Highlanders were not a creditor.
If the team could not field a team in the ITM Cup this season, it would not impact on the franchise or its contracted players, with the Otago-based players meeting the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association to discuss their situation.
However, in the medium to long term, it could affect the development pathway of promising players.
"From a Highlanders perspective, we would like to think that the young players would come through the ITM Cup teams, and through the academies."
Clark said current Highlanders Ben Smith (Otago) and John Bekhuis (Southland) were examples of talented homegrown players who had benefited by starring at provincial level.
The Southern-based franchise picked its players from all over the country, and in the case of James Haskell, from overseas - "and that is why, in the short term, no impact".
Clark, when asked if Southern rugby could survive in the professional era, was unequivocal. "There is no doubt we will survive it. But it is too early at this stage to comment on how that might happen."
