BUSINESS COURSE GUIDES
HRTA 693 Corporate Finance Assignment

Use this guide to locate primary and secondary sources for the HRTA 693 corporate finance assignment. Resources available through the Library for this assignment include journal articles, industry reports, company annual reports, SEC filings, 15 years of financial data for public companies, stock reports, company histories, company announcements, executive interviews, executive biographies and market share rankings. For additional assistance, contact Mike Davis at 413-545-6822 or request a research consultation.

Content Types and Databases for Corporate Finance Research

• Annual Reports, SEC Filings, Financial Data Set (from Mergent Online)
• Industry Surveys, Stock Reports (from S&P NetAdvantage)
• Finance/Management Journal Articles (from ABI/Inform Global)
• Newspapers, Executive Interviews, Company Announcements (from LexisNexis)
• Trade Journals, Company Histories, Industry Reports (from Business & Company Resource Center)
• Market Share Data, Business Rankings (from Tablebase)
• Wall Street Journal Articles - 1889 to present (from the WSJ Database)

  For a complete description of all business databases, review the Guide to Business Databases.

1. Connect to Mergent Online.
2. To locate company financial data, financial chronologies, or annual reports, type a company name or ticker symbol in the Basic Search box. Select content types from the tabs at the top of the results screen.
3. To locate SEC Filings (e.g., 10-K), click the EDGAR Search Tab at the top of the opening screen. Expand the default time period coverage (90 days) to one or more years (use the In this Range date boxes under Filing Date Search).
4. To create company comparison reports or industry peer reports, click the Advanced Search tab above the search box. Use the drop-down menu (Step 1) to select search categories. Refine search criteria by following Steps 2 through 6, and then click the Search button.
   

1. Connect to Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage.
2. For S&P Industry Surveys, click Industries on the top banner.
3. For S&P Stock Reports, click the Company Research link in the center column, then select Stock Reports from the Select Publication drop-down menu.

1. Connect to ABI/INFORM Global.
2. For company research, type a company name in the first search box and select Company from the drop-down menu.
3. To combine a company search with a subject search, select Subject from the second drop-down menu and search with one of these subject heading or try your own subject search.

• accounting
• budgets
• corporate finance
• financial executives
• financial performance
• financial statements
• financial management
• leadership
• long term planning
• management decisions
• strategic management
• strategic planning

Search Example. Hilton (in the company field) and customer services (in the subject field): Hilton's $50 million Answer, from InformationWeek.

1. Connect to LexisNexis Academic.
2. For daily newspaper articles, select US News from the top drop-down menu, then select a region.
3. For executive interviews, select News Transcripts from the top drop-down menu, then select All Transcripts from the second drop-down menu.
4. For executive biographies, select Reference from the left navigation column, then Biographical Information.
5. For company announcements, select News Wires from the first drop-down menu.
   

1. Connect to the Business & Company Resource Center.
2. For trade journal articles, click the Articles Icon.
3. For industry reports, click the Advanced Search Icon and select Industry Overviews from the drop-down menu. Then search by industry keyword. Sample industry report
4. For company histories, click the Advanced Search Icon and select Histories from the drop-down menu. Sample company history.
   

Data tables from over 1,000 business journals, statistical annuals, brokerage reports, trade association reports, and government documents. Full articles accompany most tables. Coverage: 1997 to present.

1. Connect to TableBase.
2. For a broad search, type keywords in the Words and Phrases search box.
3. For a narrow search, type keywords in the Words in Title search box.
4. To search without using keywords, select Concepts, Marketing Terms, Industries, or Products from the drop-down menus.

1. Connect to the Wall Street Journal.
2. The Wall Street Journal database uses the same search interface as ABI/INFORM Global (Proquest). Use the search strategy as described for ABI/Inform Global.