ACCT A331/332/333 Course Resources: SEC EDGAR

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) is the electronic system that collects, validates, indexes, and provides public access to the filings companies submit to the SEC.

The SEC provides free online public access to all of it's filings through the Next-Generation EDGAR System.

Options/screens for searching filings:

Simple Company Search: by Company Name or Ticker

Comprehensive Search: By Company, Filing type, Location, Industry code, etc.

Type in the name of the company (or the first part of the name) you want to search.  (I would also click the option “contains.”)

You should now see all the SEC filings for the company you requested.  What you will probably want is their annual 10K which will have the label 10-K or 10-K405.  You also filter your results by filling in the “Form type” field.  Fill in the filing you’re interested and the “Prior to” date of interest and click “Search.”  By filtering results, you will eliminate the most recent filings (which are automatically listed first).  Keep in mind, the filing date is generally 2 months after the date of the financial statements.

Once you select the 10-K, you will see a number of documents.  Usually, the annual report is in the first document; however, in some instances the financial statements are included in an exhibit (usually numbered 13) instead.  Thus, if the first document you open does not contain the financial statements and the notes, you may need to open a different document.