Tip: Investors And Accounting Standards
Industry specific accounting standards show you how costs, charges and more affect industries differently.
1. Go to Checkpoint.
2. Make sure the drop down box is tuned to accounting, audit and corporation finance.
3. Set Tab to Search
4. Look to the right - you'll see AICPA Audit and Accounting Guides
It's a great way to see what analysts are seeing when they upgrade or downgrade a company!
Research a Company's Financials
Research company financials from public and private companies in our pro-grade databases.
Standard and Poor's
Valueline - Basic financials plus analyst recommendations.
Standard & Poor's Tutorial
SWOTs
SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. These are to-the-point summaries of a specific company's state of existence.
Recommended databases:
Business Source Complete
Marketline Advantage
ABI Inform (search as keywords your company and SWOT)
and:
Passport GMID (there are SWOTs inside, but they are very hard to find).
HINT: Risk Factors and Business Plans
When a company sells stock for the first time, it must file a s-1 form with the SEC. This form explains how the company will make money - its business plan!
Quickest way to do this:
Go to EDGAR (the SEC database) and
1. Search Most Recent Filings
2. Limit to S-1 Form
3. Avoid the S-1/A (amendment forms) and read S-1s all day.
Now, one thing you can also do is go to the advanced search screen and type in a keyword (insurance, computers, etc.) and s-1. This should get you closer to browsing S-1 plans in your field.
