Corporate reports are a treasure trove of information for investors: they tell you whether a company is making money or losing money and why. You'll find this information in the company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports (with audited financial statements) on Form 10-K, and periodic reports of significant events on Form 8-K.

It's usually easy to find information about large companies from the companies themselves, newspapers, brokerage firms, and the SEC. By contrast, it can be extremely difficult to find information about small companies. Generally, smaller companies only have to file reports with the SEC if they have $10 million or more in assets and 500 or more shareholders, or list their securities on an exchange or Nasdaq.

You can get corporate reports from the following sources:

- The SEC You can find out whether a company files by using the SEC's database known as EDGAR. For companies that do not file on EDGAR, you can contact the SEC at:

Office of Public Reference
100 F Street, NE
Room 1580
Washington, D.C. 20549-0102
phone: (202) 551-8090
fax: (202) 777-1027
e-mail: publicinfo@sec.gov

Please note that you may have to pay a photocopying charge of $0.26 per page, plus postage, for any filing you order.

- The company Ask the company if it is registered with the SEC and files reports with us. That information may be listed on its Web site. Check out new or smaller companies thoroughly because many frauds involve these types of companies. Our brochures on Internet fraud and microcap companies provide valuable information you shouldn't miss.

- Other government regulators Banks do not have to file reports with the SEC, but file with banking regulators. Visit their Web sites: Federal Reserve System's National Information Center of Banking Information, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.