Corporate Filings and Annual Reports

These resources were selected for their authority, ease of use, and accessibility. If you need more assistance, see http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/business/refservices.html  or email the research librarians: business@libraries.cul.columbia.edu

Additional resources can be found in CLIO, the library catalog.

CONTENTS:

• Table of Resources and the Reports/Filings they Contain
• Historical Annual Reports and Filings
• Retrieving Financial Data from SEC filings and Annual Reports

There are numerous forms that companies must file with the SEC.   A complete list of SEC filings is available at the Securities Exchange Commission's Web Site

RESOURCES FOR OBTAINING ANNUAL REPORTS AND SEC FILINGS

*Annual reports are provided only if the company chooses to file them with the SEC.

Annual Reports on the Internet

There are a number of web sites that provide access to current annual reports. Some of these are linked at the library's internet resources page.

Bloomberg
Business Electronic Resources (Library Use Only)

Bloomberg contains EDGAR filings. To get a list of a company's EDGAR filings, type: "[ticker symbol] <EQUITY> <GO>" . Bloomberg has filings back to 1993.

Company Home Pages

One of the best places to find a company's annual reports and filings is that company's home page. Most public companies have an "investor relations" page on their website that provides annual report(s) and/or SEC filings.

EDGAR: The Official Securities Exchange Commission filings database
http://www.sec.gov

EDGAR is the key database for SEC filings; almost all financial, operations, and ownership data is derived from documents in the EDGAR database. The Securities Exchange Commission's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR), performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of SEC filings. Not all documents filed with the Commission by public companies are available on EDGAR; for example, filings by foreign companies are not required to be filed on EDGAR, but some of these companies do so voluntarily.

EdgarScan
http://EdgarScan.pwcglobal.com/servlets/EdgarScan

An excellent Internet resource provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers, EdgarScan is an interface to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (SEC EDGAR) database.

Factiva
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/databases/3272677.html

Full-text database providing timely and detailed facts, figures and analyses of companies, industries and financial markets. Includes industry and trade publications, news sources, and company and market data. Coverage varies by source.

LexisNexis Academic
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/databases/2100385.html

Lexis Nexis has annual reports from companies listed on the NYSE, ASE, and larger NASDAQ companies, from July 1987 to date. To search for an annual report in Universe, choose "Company Financial Information" then choose "SEC Annual Reports" from the drop-down menu. Also in Universe, under "Company Financial Information", is NAARS -- the National Accounting and Research System Annual Reports 1984-1995. NAARS contains the complete financial statement portion of annual reports for more than 4000 companies listed on the NYSE, ASE, OTC, and Fortune 1000 companies per year.

Thomson Research
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/databases/5410648.html

Thomson Research contains real-time and historical SEC EDGAR filings, scanned images of company annual reports and foreign exchange filings.

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HISTORICAL ANNUAL REPORTS AND SEC FILINGS

The Business and Economics Library has on microfiche Annual Reports to Stockholders, 10Ks, Prospectuses and Proxies for NYSE and ASE companies.  They are filed alphabetically in the cabinets with the red discs in the microforms area, first floor. Both microfiche readers and reader/printers are located in this area.

The following years are available:

• Annual Reports to Stockholders: NYSE or ASE companies from 1969 to Fall 1994
• 10Ks: NYSE or ASE from 1969 to Fall 1994
• Prospectuses: NYSE or ASE companies from 1983 through 1992
• Proxies: NYSE companies from 1985 to 1999

For annual reports before 1934 consult the library's collection of Historical Corporate Annual Reports.

RETRIEVING FINANCIAL DATA FROM SEC FILINGS AND ANNUAL REPORTS

Most of the financial information contained in annual reports and SEC filings can be found elsewhere. The Mergent Manuals, for example, contain excerpted data from the annual reports and 10Ks. The current issues of the Mergent Manuals are located on the Financial Table in the Reference Area of the Business and Economics Library, while past issues - going as far back as the 1920s - are in the library stacks.

Several resources provide financial data in electronic format. The following table lists these resources; directly below the table are descriptions of each resource.

Compact Disclosure
Business Electronic Resources (Library Use Only)

Compact Disclosure contains extensive financial information (balance sheets, income statement, footnotes), and the president’s letter and management discussion, extracted from the annual reports, 10Ks., 10Qs, etc., of companies that file with the SEC and produce goods or services. Data contained in Compact Disclosure can be downloaded to a disk, either as a text file or into a spreadsheet program. You can also sort and screen by various criteria.

Worldscope
Business Reserves

Contains basic financial information on public companies worldwide; international equivalent to Compact Disclosure. Data contained in Worldscope can be downloaded to a disk, either as a text file or into a spreadsheet program. You can also sort and screen by various criteria.

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All electronic services are restricted to current students, staff, and faculty at Columbia University, Teachers College, and Barnard College with a valid CUNIX ID and logon.