Subject Guides: Finance: Annual Reports / Regulated Filings

Tutorials

Public vs Private
This tutorial will demonstrate how to determine if a company is public or private & the differences between the two.

Canadian filings / Annual reports

Mergent Online
Also known as: |Mergent Horizon| Provides copies of annual reports and profiles for public U.S. and non-U.S. based companies. Profiles include: History, Business, Property, Subsidiaries, Officers, Directors, Long term debt, Capital stock, Annual income statement and Annual balance sheet. Also provides copies of annual reports, links for EDGAR filings, corporate profiles and recent news for U.S. public companies.
Orbis
This is a global database which provides detailed information on millions of companies. It has extensive coverage of private companies and offers the comparing of companies internationally. The data solutions show what companies do, how they're performing and the people that run them. It also includes financial data, legal entity details, M&A activity and news.
Orbis provides information on close to 400 million companies (both private and public) and entities across the globe. 41 million of these have detailed financial information. There are three additional modules hosted on the Orbis platform:
- EDGAR Filings are US SEC documents available for publicly quoted companies on US stock exchanges, banks, and insurance companies. Examples would be 8-K, 10-K, Proxy, and information statements.
- News Service aggregates news pieces from several sources, including Acquire Media, Dow Jones, and Thomson Reuters. Access includes full articles and tags for topics, industries, and countries.
- Zephyr is the most comprehensive database of deal information, and it is updated hourly, and is useful for corporate finance research. It contains information on M&A, IPO, private equity / venture capital deals, rumors, and other transaction-level details.
LSEG Data & Analytics
LSEG Data & Analytics (formerly known as Refinitiv) is a Financial and Economics information platform. Workspace for Students covers market data in a wide range of asset classes: equities, fixed income, FX, and commodities. UofA users have access to two add-ons: After-Market Research (AMR), and Datastream, a comprehensive financial time series database.
Registered Users: click on the Access Database button above
New Users: click here to register
Use of Workspace for Students, and its two add-on modules (Datastream, After Market Research) is restricted to students, faculty, and staff of the University of Alberta. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use these products for individual, non-commercial, educational, or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.
This product requires individual registration with a University of Alberta email address.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to limits on the number of concurrent registrations, all user accounts will be removed following the end of each academic term. Any user requiring access for an additional term will need to re-register.
To register: follow these instructions
Recommended browser: The LSEG platform is optimized for use on the Chrome browser
Restrictions on use:
- For Datastream: downloading is limited to a maximum of 10 million data points per calendar month
- For Research Analyst Reports (After Market Research): viewing, printing and downloading is limited to 150 pages per user, per 24 hour period
- For Research Analyst Reports: viewing, printing and downloading is also limited to a report value limit of $2,000 per user, per calendar year, based on the commercial value of individual reports. PLEASE NOTE: There is no actual cost generated for users.
Desktop Version: U of A students, faculty, and staff are permitted to download the desktop versions of Workspace for Students, Datastream, and Aftermarket Research. PLEASE NOTE: U of A Library staff and Campus IT staff cannot provide technical support for the desktop versions. For technical support, use the contact links below.
Training materials:
- LSEG Academy Learning Centre
- How to find Aftermarket Reports in LSEG Data & Analytics
Technical support:
- Call the LSEG helpdesk: 1-800-738-8377
- LSEG Support

SEDAR
Contains copies of annual reports, but these documents (with the exception of the financial statements and MD&A which are frequently embedded within an annual report), are NOT regulated.

Filings for non-USA companies trading on a USA exchange

International companies with securities traded in the USA must file reports with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC); the SEC is the national regulator.

All filings are found in the EDGAR database.

Most frequently referenced filings:
20F - annual filing of non USA public parent companies that trades in the U.S.
10K - company's annual financials (THE major filing)
10Q - company's unaudited quarterly financials
8K - disclosure of unscheduled significant events
DEF 14A (Proxy Statement) - matters voted on at annual shareholders meeting
6K - filing by foreign issuers; contains information a foreign company issues to securities regulators, investors or stock exchange

Contents of a 10K

Item 1: Business
Item 2: Properties
Item 3: Legal Proceedings
Item 4: Mine Safety Disclosures
Item 5: Market for Securities
Item 6: Selected Financial Data
Item 7: Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
Item 7A: Market Risk
Item 8: Financial Statements
Item 9: Change in Accountants
Item 10: Directors & Executive Officers
Item 11: Executive Compensation
Item 12: Ownership
Item 13: Relations & Transactions
Item 14: Controls & Procedures
Item 15: Exhibits, Schedules, and Reports on Form 8-K
Signatures & Certifications