The Securities and Exchange Commission Publications
Recommended supplement
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is not the title of a reference piece. Rather, it is a quasi-government agency. Nevertheless, the SEC, (212) 748-8000) is a very important source of information that needs to be understood by any well-informed business student.
A good description and source of information on the SEC can be seen in the Directory of Business Information (see Chapter 15). Publicly held companies and some private ones are required to tell the SEC-and the world-quite a bit about themselves. They must file specific reports disclosing business and financial conditions. This required filing of reports has also created a mini-industry. An estimated 40,000 business and investment entities now report to the SEC. They include public companies, investment funds such as mutual funds, and private companies that issue public debt such as bonds. You can also get a lot of SEC information in derivative reports from major company or industry sources such as Moody's and Standard & Poor's (see Chapter 3). Company reports required by the SEC include registration statement (operating data); prospectus (new public offering); proxy statement (annual meeting agendas); and Williams Act filings (mergers and acquisitions). Plus
10-K: a company's annual report to the SEC.
10-Q: a quarterly financial report.
8-K: a report on major unscheduled events (bankruptcy, etc.).
13-F: a quarterly report of institutional stock holdings.
13-G: (or 13-D) ownership reports and intentions.
14-D: a tender offer.
There are numerous ways to get SEC company reports; you can visit one of the SEC reference rooms in Washington, New York, or Chicago, or call the Washington information line at (202) 942-8088. The SEC also publishes an annual directory called Directory of Companies Required to File Annual Reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is inexpensive and is available from the GPO or can be seen at federal depositories.
www.sec.gov
102476.2726@compuserve.com
Database: Lexis-Nexis