business research for “non-business” librarians ola superconference february 4, 2005
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Business Research for “Non-Business” Librarians OLA Superconference February 4, 2005. Helen Katz Manager Research & Information Services Ontario Ministry of Finance. Outline. Business and Management Topics People Industry Codes Companies Industries. Business and Management Topics. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Business Research for “Non-Business”
LibrariansOLA Superconference
February 4, 2005Helen KatzManager
Research & Information ServicesOntario Ministry of Finance
Outline
• Business and Management Topics• People• Industry Codes• Companies• Industries
Business and Management Topics
• Terminology• Sources
Terminology
• Dictionaries• Google – define function (still need
to evaluate sources) Example:
Define: initial public offering
Sources of Management Information
• ABI/Inform Proquest – Dialog, Factiva, Lexis, Firstsearch
• Business and Management Practices - Dialog
• Business Periodicals Index (Wilson Business Abstracts) – Firstsearch, Dialog
• Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA) – Dialog, FPInfomart
Proquest - ABI/Inform Classification Codes
9110 Company specific9120 Product specific9150 Guidelines9160 Biographical9510 Multinational companies9520 Small business9540 Nonprofit institutions
People
• Biographical sources• Regulatory filings• News & magazine articles
People
• Company officers• Directors
People Sources
• Company web sites• Canadian Who’s Who / Who’s Who in
Canada• FP Directory of Directors - FPInfomart• Standard & Poor’s Register of
Corporations, Directors, and Executives – Dialog, Lexis
• Annual Information Form, Proxy statement
• News articles from business periodicals, national or local newspapers – FPInfomart, Factiva, Dialog, Lexis
Industry Codes
• NAICS – North American Industrial Classification System
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Standard/naics/2002/naics02-index.htm
• SIC – Standard Industrial Classification
Other Industry Codes
• Product Codes• Trade Codes
• International Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) is used for classification of foreign trade
Companies
• Public or Private• Large Companies• Financial Information• Regulatory Filings
Basic Company Information
• Company address• Officers and directors• Background/history• Financial• Investment/stock• Corporate families• Bankers/Accountants/Lawyers
Basic Company Sources• D & B Canadian Key Business Directory -
Dialog• D & B Principal International Businesses -
Dialog• Standard & Poor’s Register of Corporations,
Directors, and Executives – Dialog, Lexis• ReferenceUSA Canadian Business Data• Scott’s directories
Specialized directories – by geography or industry
Companies
• Private company does not sell securities (shares) to the public• Federal or provincial registration
• Federal Corporations Data Online• http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/sc_mrksv
/ corpdir/ dataOnline/search.cgi?lang=e• Public company sells securities to
the public• Has greater disclosure responsibilities
Companies in Canada
• 2,228,572 Canadian companies (June 2003 Business Register)
• 24,052 companies with 100 or over employees
• About 1,400 companies listed on TSX
• Over 2,000 companies listed on TSX Venture Exchange
Large Companies
• Financial Post 500• Canadian Business Investor 500• ROB Top 1000 (Globe & Mail)
Fiscal Year
• Full year of operation• Date to end the year is set for
financial purposes• Often December 31
• for retail – January 31 (or 52 weeks ending early January)
Financial Statements
Six components: Auditor’s Report Earnings Statement Balance Sheet Retained Earnings Statement of Changes in Financial
Position Notes to Financial Statements
Auditor’s Report
• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)• U.S., Canadian, International
• Opinion of auditor
Earnings Statement
• Income Statement, Statement of Revenue & Expense, Profit Statement, Results of Operations
• Operating Income – earned from operations of company
• Other Income – investment income
• Money earned & spent over the course of the fiscal year
Earnings Statement
Revenue from Sale of Goods Expenses incurred from Sale of
GoodsOperating Income
Non-operating IncomeIncome before TaxesIncome TaxesNet Income
Balance Sheet
Three parts:AssetsLiabilitiesShareholders’ Equity
Snapshot at the end of the fiscal year
Assets
What is owned by a company• Cash & investments• Inventories• Property (land & buildings)• EquipmentWhat is owing to the company• Accounts receivable
Liabilities
What a company owes• Payments• Loans• Bonds
Definition of Current Assets and Current
Liabilities
Shareholders’ Equity
• Shareholders’ ownership or investment in company
• Capital stock• Earnings retained (Cumulative
retained profit)
Difference between value of capital stock and market capitalization
Retained Earnings
• Link between Earnings Statement & Balance Sheet
• Cumulative profit
• Also known as Consolidated Statement of Shareholders’ Investment
Retained Earnings
Retained Earnings, Beginning of Period
Net Earnings for the Period
Dividends Declared
Retained Earnings, End of Period
Statement of Changes in Financial Position
• Cash flow statement• Shows how cash is generated &
spent• Certain items are on financial
statement as a cost, but there is no money spent
Statement of Changes in Financial Position
OperationsInvestmentFinancing
Increase (Decrease) in CashCash, at Beginning of PeriodCash, at End of Period
Notes to Financial Statements
• Integral part of financial statements• Explanation and details of information
found in financial statements
Guides to Reading Financial Statements(note that these are all pre-Sarbanes-Oxley)www.prars.com/ibm/ibmframe.htmlhttp://instruction.bus.wisc.edu/corecourses
/..%5Cmcarpenter/readings/financereport.pdf
Annual Report
• Management Discussion & Analysis• Auditor’s Report• Financial Statements• Notes to Financial Statements
• 10 Year Summary (usually)• Promotional/additional material in
annual report
Quarterly Report
• Unaudited financial statements• Comparison to previous quarter and to
same quarter previous year• Interim management discussion &
analysis
• Proforma financial statements• EBITDA (Earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation, and amortization)
Proxy Statement
• Announcement of annual general meeting
• Selection of board of directors, auditors• Provides details of executive
compensation• Lists major shareholders (over 5% in
U.S.; over 10% in Canada)
Insider Trading
• Rules and regulations for directors and officers of companies regarding the sale or purchase of company stock
Disclosure• Prompt disclosure of material
information• Definition of material
• Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation (U.S.)• Executive certification of disclosure• Shortening of reporting deadlines• Impact on Canadian rules
• Fair Disclosure (FD) regulation (U.S.)• Impact on Canadian regulation
Common Filing Documents
• Annual Report• Management Discussion & Analysis• Annual Financial Statement
• Quarterly Report• Management Information Circular
(Proxy)• Annual Information Form
Financial Ratios
• Mathematical function representing relationship of one number to another
• Used to evaluate company financial statements
Financial Ratios
Types of ratios:• Liquidity• Profitability• Efficiency• Debt• Value
Debt Ratios
• Measures how well a company can deal with its debt obligations
• Examples:• Debt/Equity Ratio• Interest Coverage Ratio
Debt/Equity Ratio• Measures debt outstanding to the
monies invested in & earned by the company
• Leverage ratio - the extent to which the company is financed by debt
Interest Coverage• Measures how much the company earns
in relation to the interest it must pay
Value Ratios
• Measures the worth to investors of a company’s shares or the return on owning them
• Examples:• Earnings per Share• Price-Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio)
Earnings per Share• profit per share
Price-Earnings Ratio• comparison of market price to EPS• higher P/E ratio normally means
company is viewed more favourably by investors
FINANCIAL SOURCES
• www.sedar.com• FP Historical Reports, Investor
Reports, Analyzer (FPInfomart)• Corporate Retriever (Canadian) –
Micromedia ProQuest
Life Cycle of Business Information
• Press release• Wire service• Daily news• Newsletter• Weekly• Monthly
Ojala, Marydee. (1996). “The life cyle of business information.” Database, June/July, p. 79-81.
Industries
• Government Statistics• Associations• Investment Sources• News and Magazine Articles
Industry Search Strategy
1.Government sources - be creative• Statistics Canada, Strategis, Natural
Resources
2.Industry overviews in trade journals3. Trade associations4. Specialized reports on the industry
(either ongoing or special)5. Articles in the press or in periodicals
(databases)6. Consultants, accounting firms7. Competitors8. Experts
Issues
• Specificity of data• that is, is the data available at
the detail you need
• Currency of source• Currency of data
Industry Sources
• Mergent Industry Reports (include Canada)
• Standard and Poor’s Industry Reports• Business & Industry database – Dialog• Tablebase (database) – Dialog• Investext – Dialog, Lexis• Gale Group PROMT – Dialog• Gale Group Trade & Industry - Dialog
Performance Benchmarking
Performance Plus• Uses Small Business Profiles from
Statistics Canada• Most current data is from 2000
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inpp-pp.nsf/en/Home
General SourcesWeaver, Maggie. (2001). The Canadian B2B
Research Sourcebook: Your Essential Guide. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association.
Encyclopedia of Business Information Resources. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. Annual.
Moss, Rita W. (2004). Strauss’s Handbook of
Business Information: A Guide for Librarians, Students and Researchers. 2nd ed. Westport, CT.: Libraries Unlimited.