A wide variety of sources and approaches exist to find information on a company. The amount and type of information known at the outset of your research will determine the starting point. If basic information on the company is already known, the first few steps listed below can be skipped. Following the approach outlined here, you will be fairly well-assured of having done a thorough search and having obtained all, or nearly all, of the available information on a particular company. See flowchart.
- The first step is to identify the company being researched. If given a choice of companies to research, try to select a publicly-owned one (that is, one traded on one of the major stock exchanges or traded over-the-counter).
- To begin your search, look for background information in one of the standard directories. These directories provide name and address verification, an indication of the company's size, its products or services, its SIC(s) (Standard Industrial Classification number(s), explained under "Researching an Industry"), and other basic information. Most directories will give a ticker symbol or a stock exchange designation, which indicates that a company is publicly-owned. Note carefully the SIC(s) assigned to the company, since some of the subsequent information found on the company and the industry of which it is a part will be accessible by that number. The basic standard directories are Ward's Business Directory, the Million Dollar Directory, and the Directory of Corporate Affiliations (see under "U.S. Company Directories").
- If the company being researched is not included in these directories, it may be because it is relatively small, is privately-owned, or is a subsidiary or affiliate of another, larger company. Detailed financial information usually will not be found on privately-owned companies even though they may be listed in one of the standard or private company directories. The best approach to obtaining published information on a private company is through periodical articles written on it, if any exist (see step 7 below). A finding aid such as the Directory of Corporate Affiliations or America's Corporate Families (see under "U.S. Company Directories") may be used to determine subsidiary or affiliate status. If a company is owned by another, most information on the subsidiary will be subsumed within the information on the parent (however, periodical articles written on the subsidiary will be indexed under the subsidiary's name). If a company is too small to be in one of the standard directories, the Thomas Register (see under "U.S. Manufacturer's Directories") or one of the other specialized directories may be consulted for basic information.
Also consult the manuals on research strategies for special situations that are listed under "Guides to Business Reference Sources." These offer tips on finding published and unpublished information and ways to bring bits of data together to create information that is not otherwise available.
- Background and financial information for publicly-owned companies may be found in a number of sources, many of which are published by Moody's or Standard & Poor's. Because the amount of information provided will vary from company to company and from source to source, you may need to check multiple sources.
- If financial information is needed in greater detail, the company's annual report to stockholders or 10-K statement should be consulted. The most detailed financial information is usually found in the 10-K; a discussion of the company is usually in the annual report.
- Additional information, such as advertising expenditures or corporate structure, may be found on a company through supplementary directories and sources. Check the sources in this guide listed under "Guides to Business Reference Sources" to identify those items.
- Books and articles on the company should also be consulted to round out the company profile and fill information gaps. In fact, articles frequently will provide some of the most valuable information on a company, especially a private one. For books, check the library's Online Catalog under the company name. For periodical articles, the primary indexes to consult are F & S Index, the General Business File, ABI/Inform, and Business and Industry (see under "Business Periodical Indexes and Abstracts"). For small companies, use indexes that cover local newspapers and business weeklies as well as those covering specialized trade journals. Other indexes may also cite pertinent sources and should not be ignored.
- It may be possible to identify books on well-known companies by using the Online Catalog. Titles of periodicals should also be checked in the Online Catalog using the ASU Libraries network to see if the library subscribes to the publication and where the issues are shelved when looking for the text of an article. If citations are found for books and periodicals not owned by the library, those materials can be obtained through the library's Interlibrary Loan Service.
- In most cases, additional information about the company's industry should be pursued. Consult the "Researching an Industry" section for guidance on finding industry information.
- Unless conducting an exhaustive search on a company, government documents rarely need to be consulted for company information. They will, however, have some of the best information available on industries.
- The same basic approach outlined above can be used for finding information on foreign and local firms. Bear in mind, however, that detailed information will be found on only the largest companies in those categories.
See flowchart.
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