Annual reports

Annual reports are documents produced by a public company to disclose corporate information to its shareholders. Annual reports usually include an opening letter by the CEO to the shareholders, financial information, results of continuing operations, market segment information, new product plans and information about subsidiaries. All Canadian companies must file annual reports in SEDAR, a free website.

For companies that file in the United States, it is best to also consult a company's 10-K Form which must be filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, in addition to the Annual Report to shareholders. The 10-K Form, accessible via EDGAR, usually contains more detailed information about the company’s financial condition than the annual report and follows a prescribed template set by the SEC that companies must adhere to.

Part 1 of the 10-K presents company and business description, containing information that is useful to anyone requiring a general understanding of the industry and company. It has various sections including business, risk factors, properties, and legal proceedings (items 1, 1A, 2 and 3). The company often provides an update to the competitiveness of the industry, including business trends and any other pertinent information that may affect a company's ability to reach its goals. 

Part 2 of the 10-K focuses on financial data and includes the Management's Discussion and Analysis (item 7), which states management's explanation of the financial results and the factors that impacted those results over the past year. A summary of financial performance, discussion of acquisitions or divestitures and a comparative analysis of the current reporting year to previous years are also listed here.

Part 3 of the 10-K includes Corporate Governance information (item 10), including executive compensation (item 11) while Part 4 includes all the financial statements and exhibits. For more details about each item, refer to the document "How to Read a 10-K"

Mergent Online (Concordia users only)
This database has archived international annual reports from 1996 onwards. To access corporate filings, search for your company first and then click on the Reports tab within the company snapshot page.

SEDAR
SEDAR provides access to most Canadian public securities documents and information filed by public companies and investment funds with the Canadian Securities Administrators. Online coverage starts from 1997 onwards and is freely available to all investors.

EDGAR
Maintained by the SEC, EDGAR provides free public access to U.S. filings from 1994 onwards, allowing you to research a company's financial information and operations by reviewing registration statements, prospectuses and periodic reports filed on 10-K and 10-Q forms.

ProQuest Historical Annual Reports (Concordia users only)
Access to over 800 annual reports of US companies, that go as far back as 1884 in some cases. Reports can be browsed by company name, industry or date.

Historical Annual Reports
Digitized annual reports of Canadian Companies. Coverage varies.