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David Flynn's IMS 180

Public/Private - What's the difference?

The difference in one word is disclosure. Public companies must disclose information; private companies do not have to disclose any information. In the US, public companies must comply with the regulations of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

The exception is the very small number private companies with public debt that are also required to file annual reports with the SEC.

Information about the remaining private companies is difficult to locate and frequently cannot be verified.

Public Companies - Available 24/7 On- and Off-Campus

The financial information available in the following electronic resources are downloadable into Excel.

Public Companies - pre-EDGAR

Summary financial information, available 24/7, on- and off-campus.

Public Companies - On-Campus Access Only

DATASTREAM

Access restricted to Axinn Library. Long runs of historic data available downloadable into Excel.

Private Companies

Financial information about privately held companies is difficult to locate, that is why they are private. Follow the links in the Company Profile tab to find information about these companies.

The only exception to this rule is in the very rare cases when a privately held company has public debt (bonds) and is then required to file a 10-K with the SEC.These filings are found in Mergent Online.

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