Unlocking EDGAR's Treasures.

• Author: Adams, Greg D.
• Position: Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval

Public company information is not just for Wall Street anymore! The availability of SEC filings in an electronic for mat - together with the distributive power of he Internet -- has created an opportunity to deliver and receive SEC information in ways that had previously been impossible.

Which studio mogul received $2 million plus for a home screening room? Whose executives use their employees to furnish personal services? Which airline executive flew his family "free" at a cost of $90,000?

Each year, in the United States, every public company is required to disclose details of its activities, like those just mentioned, to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those reports explain whether a company's business is growing or shrinking, and why. They also disclose pending law suits, investigations by government agencies and default of bank covenants, among other juicy tidbits.

Public company information or secrets is not just for Wall Street anymore. Since 1994, the SEC has required all U.S. publicly traded companies and institutional investors to electronically file specified regulatory documents into the EDGAR® database (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval), including annual and quarterly reports, investment holdings and IPO registration statements.

Prior to the electronic filing system, access to these SEC documents was limited primarily to professional financial analysts and corporate lawyers. Exorbitant fees made the documents affordable mainly to large corporations or those willing and able to pay thousands of dollars per month. For the fee, customers received these filings in paper format. The advancement of technology, enabling the availability of SEC filings in an electronic format -- together with the distributive power of the Internet -- has created an opportunity to deliver and receive SEC information in ways that had previously been impossible.

The EDGAR database is regarded as one of the wealthiest and most trusted sources of information that can meet the business and personal needs of finance professionals and other individuals. With these capabilities, EDGAR-based information about customers, competitors, suppliers and sales prospects could and should be an integral part of the mix of information on any company's intranet.

The advanced search technologies of today have greatly improved the user experience in retrieving and working with millions of pages of SEC documents. Companies and individuals can now save...