Financial Accounting
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NOTE: The electronic databases listed on this page and marked with a * are available from the
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Subscribed to by Muhlenberg College for a substantial fee, these databases can be accessed on campus without restriction, or off campus by entering name and student ID.
How can I summarize my business' activities and the industry or industries in which it operates, and show how my company ranks in the industry?
Succinct descriptions of a company--what it does, how it operates, and the industry to which it belongs--can be found in Hoover's and Disclosure, both part of Lexis-Nexis*. Another very useful database for this purpose is Mergent Online*.
Market share and company size can often be located in Market Share Reporter (Business Ref. 338.74 M345s) and Business Rankings Annual (Business Ref. 338.74 B979r). For rankings, see also Manufacturing and Distribution USA (Business Ref. 338.47 M284a).
A note about Standard Industry Classification (SIC). . .
Many business information sources still employ the Standard Industry Classification (SIC). This classification system can be very useful in analyzing an industry group and comparing individual companies within that group. To identify the SIC code to which your company has been assigned, try looking your company up in Business and Company ASAP* database, Mergent Online*, or Disclosure, a part of the Lexis-Nexis* database.
Another place to find SIC codes for companies is Reference USA*.
NOTE: Regrettably, different publications assign different codes to
companies. Select the code that best suits the comparison you want to make
with other companies. Consult the Standard
Industrial Classification Search (http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/sicser.html) for assistance in making your decision.
Over time a new system called the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is to replace the older and now inadequate SIC. For more information, visit the U.S. Census Bureau's NAICS page (http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html).
How can I identify subsidiaries and their business activities?
Two databases that identify parents and subsidiaries are Business and Company ASAP* and Hoover's, a part of Lexis-Nexis*. Another very useful database for this purpose is Mergent Online*.
Also see Reference USA*.
Where can I find 5 yrs. net revenue (or net sales), net income, basic earnings per share, dividends per share, and working capital?.
Two places that provide this information are ValueLine*, and Hoover's, a part of Lexis-Nexis*.
How do I find industry standards for these ratios: current, debt to total assets, profit margin?
One excellent source for industry standards, arranged by SIC, is Industry
Norms and Key Business Ratios (Business Ref. 338.0973 I42).
See also Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios (Business
Ref. 338.0973 A445o) and Robert Morris & Assoc. Annual Statement
Studies (Business Ref. 657.3 R627a).
Mergent Online* is also able to run a
company comparison, comparing one company with others in the same industry
classification. For direction on how to run this report in Mergent,
click here
or visit http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/guides/libinst/abe/mergentcomp.doc
Where can I locate an industry profile, including a description, major companies, size in total sales dollars, and industry trends and hot topics?
Reports of industry performance--past, present, future--are located
in places like the Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys (Business
Ref. 338.0973 S785a). See also Business
& Company ASAP* (NOTE: this database is arranged by SIC (see note on SIC above), and so is excellent for obtaining industry overviews and a list of top competitors by sales); see also Lexis-Nexis*.
How can I find an archive of closing stock prices for my business?
An archive of closing stock prices can be found at BigCharts:
Historical Quotes (http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/)
How do I locate company financial information in spreadsheet format?
10-K reports are available from the Securities and
Exchange Commission, from about 1994-present, depending on when your company
started filing electronically. For reports in spreadsheet format, visit Mergent Online*.
Style guides for composing a bibliography
Trexler Library's APA for Business (http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/apabus.pdf) offers examples for citing print and electronic resources in a bibliography. For more information, follow the path
Trexler Library Homepage
(http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library)Research HelpCitation Guides.
Last Updated 9/26/06
This page authored by Kelly Cannon - Reference Librarian - Trexler Library
