Week 5 – Assignment

Financial Reporting and the SEC

In an eight- to ten-page paper (not including the title and reference pages) research and discuss the SEC’s company filings requirements. In your paper:  

• Describe how investors can use the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) EDGAR database (Links to an external site.) to quickly research a company’s financial information filed on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
• Identify the differences between the Annual Report send to shareholders and the Annual Report on Form 10-K, which must be filed with the SEC.
• Describe the contents of:
  • Form 10-K SEC filings
  •  Management Discussion and Analysis
  • Auditors’ Report
  • Selected Financial Data
• Discuss how the SEC”s requirement for domestic and foreign companies using US GAAP to provide their financial statements in the XBRL format can improve financial reporting?
• Most publicly traded companies are examined by numerous analysts. Find analysts’ ratings about a company of your choice by visiting biz.yahoo.com/I. Provide a comparison over time and across companies in the same industry by answering the following questions:
  • How many analysts rated the company?
  • What percentage rated it a strong buy?
  • What was the average rating for the week?
  •  Did the average rating improve or decline relative to the previous week?

Your paper should be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.). It must include at least six scholarly sources, including a minimum of three from the Ashford University Library, in addition to the text.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.