Accounting Resources: Research Companies/Financial Disclosures

This research guide provides high quality resources for Masters of Accounting program and others studying accounting at UC San Diego

How do I find publicly traded companies easily?

These resources are great for identifying key companies operating within an industry and/or browsing to get ideas about which companies you'd like to research. Note - if you need absolutely accurate company financials for your course or, do not use Yahoo Finance or Business Insights: Global. Instead, once you find your company/companies, then go and use any of the resources under the "Company Financials & Annual Reports" or "SEC Filings" boxes of this page.

Option A: Browsing

Yahoo Finance Path = pick an Industry, then once in the industry, use Company Index

Option B: Look up a known company's name:

Gale Business Insights Try a company name in the search box. Click on a company name in the results list, you will see detailed profile information. Public companies have a ticker symbol, the exchange, NAICS codes in the industry section, company website and more.

Mergent Market Atlas Do a company search, then either inspect the results for that company or look up what's under the ‘competitors’ or the ‘equity reports’ tabs to find additional companies.

LSEG Refinitiv Workspace Do a company Search. Inspect the results for that company or look up the Peers section of the profile.

Option C: Create Company Lists

Nexis Uni Click Find a Company, then click dots in upper left corner and choose Nexis Dossier. Click on "Create a Company List" or "Compare Companies."

LSEG Refinitiv Workspace There is a company screener function. From the landing page choose Search Tools > Companies.

Mergent Market Atlas Use the filters on the landing page to create a company list.

Company Financials & Annual Reports

Mergent Market Atlas
This resource replaces Mergent Online in June 2025. It provides access to company financials, ratios, business segments, descriptions, sustainability, officers and directors. It is especially useful for company, industry, index, ESG and economic data views, SEC filings, and other reports.

Mergent Archives
This collection contains thousands of historical annual reports of U.S. companies and the historical Moody's Manuals publications, which provided annual profiles and international companies traded on the U.S. exchanges. Text and financial information comes from SEC filings and the company's own sources. (1900-1998 called Moody's Manuals; 1999- aka Mergent Manuals).
LSEG Refinitiv Workspace
Great historical coverage of public company financials for U.S. and international companies. When looking a company profile, click the Financials tab (shortcut FINSUM). (First time users sign up using this link).
Compustat via WRDS
This database provides a broad range of information on active and inactive companies directed at institutional investors, universities, bankers, advisors, analysts, and asset/portfolio managers in corporate, M&A, private capital, equity, and fixed income markets with company data history available back to 1950. ACCESS: UC San Diego faculty, staff and students first must sign up for a WRDS account by using the Register link on the landing page. LIMITATIONS: Masters & Undergraduate students do not have access during summer or quarter breaks. UC San Diego affiliates without AD network accounts are ineligible for WRDS accounts (most Extension students are in this category). In those cases, Mergent Market Atlas and Finaeon (Global Financial Database) are your recommended alternatives.

How do I find the SEC filings for my companies?

There is more than one way to get the SEC filings of a public company.

SEC’s EDGAR database of public company filings.
Mergent Market Atlas View an individual company's filings or click the Filings menu link and search across many companies' filings.
Refinitiv Workspace lets you search for filings by one company or set an alert for filings across particular criteria, such as time frame. (First time users sign up using this link).

Which SEC filings give me the most relevant information for my analysis?

The form 10-K , an annual financial disclosure overview, is a good place to be thorough. Especially check out the footnotes to the financials and the Management Discussion.
Other frequently-used filings are ARS —the annual report; SC-13 changes in beneficial ownership, S-8 changes in employee benefit plans, DEF 14 proxy series. For a complete list of filing types and what they cover see http://www.sec.gov/about/forms/secforms.htm