|
|
|
|
|
|
Foster Business Library Corporate Annual
Reports:
See Periodicals Lists on the Foster Business Library homepage, under Research, for two listings of companies included in the Foster Business Library collection: a short list of Current Annual Reports and the complete list of All Annual Reports, including many bankrupt, liquidated, merged, acquired and other companies. The second, complete lists includes companies whose annual reports won awards.
Detailed holdings information about Foster Business Library
corporate annual reports may be found by searching in the UW Libraries Catalog
with the company name as author. Finding these records can
be difficult due to mergers, acquisitions, and changes in company
names--as well as in the title of the annual report (annual report, report
to stockholders, etc.). For many companies, there are multiple records
for various versions of the company name, with the holdings scattered
among each record. In many of these cases, there are references to the
other company names under the box that displays holdings--though clicking
on these references typically takes you to the top of the title list for
all annual reports rather than to the other company name as author.
Where possible, staff in the Foster Business Library try to bring
various versions of company names together under one shelving title in
the lateral files where the reports are stored. For quick reference,
consult the Foster Annual Reports
website for a
list of
companies whose annual reports are currently collected.
Depending on the company, the Foster Business Library annual
reports collection includes just the latest three years, a long range
of years or all years. In general, major national and international
companies are represented by just the latest three years while Pacific
Northwest companies are represented by as many years as we have been able
to acquire and retain. More information about the annual reports
collection development policy may be found later in this document.
Because annual reports circulate just like books,
they sometimes are lost by library users and often cannot be replaced.
The annual reports for any given company may be incomplete even when a
date range is
specified.
Generally, only annual reports to shareholders are included in the
Foster Business Library annual reports collection; Securities and Exchange Commission filings
received in lieu of an annual report are not usually retained since they
are commonly available online from a variety of sources. Exceptions
may be made, as in cases where S.E.C. filings are bound as an annual report,
with some other information for shareholders attached, or when a company in the Corporate Annual Reports collection
switches to S.E.C. 10-K filings instead of printed annual reports for a year or two.
Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500: Firms in the top one hundred of the Fortune
500 and Fortune Global 500 are included in the annual reports
collection,
with the latest three years represented (with about 140 companies represented). Where the Foster Business
Library has a significant historical collection of a company's annual
reports, a longer run of annual reports may be retained. Longer runs may also be maintained for companies whose annual
reports have garnered awards.
Representative competitors: Competitors to major Pacific Northwest companies in industries central
to the region (such as computer software, retail/wholesale,
biomed/biotech, forest products and transportation) are included in the
annual reports collection. Just the latest three years of such companies
are retained usually, unless a valuable historical collection has been
collected.
High interest companies: Companies of perennial interest to student researchers (such as companies producing beverages,
cars, clothes, food, etc.) are included in the collection. Usually just
the latest three years of annual reports for such companies are retained;
exceptions are made in cases where the Foster Business Library has
amassed a historical run of reports.
World's Best Annual Reports: Each year, annual report expert
Sid Cato compiles a list of the annual reports he rates as the
world's best. Companies whose annual reports are repeatedly rated as among the world's best are also considered for
addition to the Foster Business Library's Corporate Annual Reports collection. On the Library's list of Corporate Annual Reports, a year, in
red, after a company
name indicates that the company's annual report for that year was named as one of the world's best (according to
Sid Cato).
In the Foster Business Library:
Disclosure Files:
This uncatalogued set of very old microfiche dates from the 1960's into the 1970's and consists of facsimile color copies of printed annual reports. This collection is held in microfiche cabinets, with the label Disclosure—Older Annual Reports and is arranged by company name. This set was received as a gift when SeaFirst Bank closed its corporate library. How long this collection will remain in the library is uncertain, due to possibly toxic gases emitted by the decaying microfiche.
Securities and Exchange Commission Filings: These S.E.C.
reports are another source of information that often prove more valuable
than the annual reports mailed out to shareholders. Lexis-Nexis is
a good source (among many) for online SEC filings back to December,
1987.
For the oldest S.E.C. filings, go to the Corporate
Microfile, on microfiche, in the Foster Business Library microfiche collection, for reports of corporate annual meetings, annual reports
to shareholders, proxy statements, and annual reports to the S.E.C. on
Form 10-K's, from 1978 to 1982.
For subsequent SEC filings, the Foster Business Library has a microfiche
backfile from 1982 to 1991 called the Q-File.
The Q-File
set was
followed by a microfiche backfile called the SEC File for the period from 1991 to 1997. There
is a
hardcopy SEC File Index in the Reference Collection (call
number
HG4028. B2 .S42), covering the years 1978 to 1998.
Foster Business Library databases:
Hoovers Online: On the
Foster Business Library homepage, this database
provides extensive information on over 40,000 companies worldwide. Each company
profiled includes a link to the company homepage, where company annual reports
may often be found in the Investor Relations section. Hoovers Online also offers access to company S.E.C.
filings. Access to this database is restricted to those with a UW Net ID.
Web Resources:
Historical Annual Reports Collection:
The Foster Business Library annual reports collection is
contained in lateral files under the Corporate Annual Reports sign,
located between the Reference Desk and the Circulation/Reserve Desk.
Arrangement is alphabetically by company
name (and usually--but not always--by the latest version of the company name).
Company Selection
Criteria:
Pacific Northwest public companies: The Foster Business Library corporate annual reports
collection is focused on the approximately 200 public companies in the
Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. For
these companies, annual reports are retained indefinitely.
Other Sources for Annual
Reports:
Many companies provide copies of their recent annual reports on their company homepage, usually in the investor
relations section. Annual reports more than a few years old are not often found on company homepages. In their
place, U.S. companies file SEC 10-K reports with extensive information about company activities. Lexis-Nexis
Academic Universe on the Foster Business Library is a good source for SEC 10-K filings; go to
Business and then to SEC Filings & Reports.
A collection of over one
thousand
online annual reports. Many of these reports are in PDF format.
The Public Register's Annual Report Service:
Claiming to be America's largest annual report source, this site offers the annual reports, prospectuses and 10K filings for 3,600 companies, searchable by name, industry or state. Annual reports may be ordered, free, from this source but no reports are available online.