Essential questions to ask from the start:
In addition to the company or organization's size, the answers to these questions will affect the amount and type of information that is available about it.
In the U.S., companies with shares that are publicly traded on the stock exchange are required by law, per the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to file detailed financial and other information. These companies have one to five-letter ticker symbols that can sometimes be used in place of the company's name while searching library databases and the Internet.
Even with federal disclosure obligations, it can be difficult to find information on subsidiaries of larger parent companies, since public companies do not have to report on them separately; and private companies, large and small, are always a little tricky because they do not have to disclose.
Nonprofits are exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, but because of this status, these organizations are required to file certain financial and operational information annually.
For free but limited company snapshots that may help answer the above questions and more, try searching the Dun & Bradstreet Business Directory.
Google Advanced Search can reveal all kinds of useful data and information including company "org charts." Try entering the company name and organizational chart. The filetype filter is also great for uncovering PDFs, Microsoft (i.e., Excel, PowerPoint, and Word) files, and more. You can even use the site filter for company websites without a prominent search feature.
A few key documents to seek out:
In addition to Investopedia's Financial Terms Dictionary, these terms and thousands more can be found in Campbell R. Harvey's Hypertextual Finance Glossary, which may come in handy when reading through annual reports and SEC filings. (Do not be put off by the design of the latter resource!)
NetMBA also provides helpful guides to common-size financial statements, financial ratios, and other topics.
Financial information for private and subsidiary companies is not as readily available as that of publicly traded and parent companies, though some data can be found in the PrivCo database.
Other, anecdotal evidence of financial status is often shared in local newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and trade journals, and sometimes, actual numbers are provided (however approximate or vague they may be). These snippets can be found via article, or "literature," searches in library databases.
Current and archived information from thousands of local, regional, national, and international news sources including newspaper titles, newswires, web editions, videos, broadcast transcripts, business journals, periodicals, government documents, and other publications. Also Included in this collection are Ethnic, African American, Military, Government & Defense, South Carolina news sources image editions of The Post and Courier and The State.
Includes access to over 1,500 full-text journals and magazines, more than 900 full-text peer-reviewed journals, nearly 500 journals without embargo, over 700 journals indexed in Web of Science and Scopus, and more.
Provides comprehensive access to newspapers, broadcast transcripts, wire services, and blogs from around the globe as well as extensive legal sources for federal and state cases and statutes, and business information on over 80 million U.S. and international companies.
Google (or another search engine) can help fill in the gaps. When searching company websites look for pages with titles like "About Us" or "For Investors." Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and even TikTok) can be especially helpful for small, private companies.
Extensive reference content from Gale's core business collection; easy-to-use company fundamentals and investment research reports; industry rankings, profiles, market share data, company histories, and more.
Provides exclusive sector and quantamental research, including real-time and aftermarket reports from more than 1,800 brokerage, independent, and market research providers, company projections, industry analysis, and opinions on macroeconomic trends, as well as supply chain for global industries.
Includes 2.5 million multi-disciplinary statistics, facts, and market data; 4,000 dossiers; more than 80,000 topics covering various markets and industries; 22,500 original sources of data; and more. All exportable for republication.
Detailed abstracts of hundreds of environmental impact statements issued by the U.S. government. Database coverage is from 1985 to present and updates are bimonthly. This citation-only index provides links to full text via other CofC resources when available.
Focuses on the academic study of sustainability and the environment. Covers physical, social, and economic aspects of environmental issues. Navigate issue, organization and country portals.
This guide is based on an unpublished Business Research guide created by Amanda Kraft. It is copied with permission.
