Is the company you are researching public or private?
Public companies in the United States are required by law to disclose a great deal of information, which is readily accessible. It is usually more difficult to research a private company than a public company. If you are researching a small private company, you may need to rely on local information sources.
Is the company a division, or subsidiary of larger company?
Some of these subsidiaries may have different names than their parent companies. Usually, only the financial statements of the parent companies are made public.
What is the company’s ticker symbol?
Many of the electronic resources available through the Library use the ticker symbol, the symbol which identifies a company’s stock on an exchange.
What are the company’s SIC or NAICs codes?
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes classify similar businesses together. They can be used to identify a company’s competitors and to determine industry financial norms.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes are being phased in to replace SIC codes, but you may still need to find the SIC codes for your research.