1. "I am on the closed interview list for a company I know nothing about. Help!"
2. "I need financial information about a specific company. Where should I start?"
3. "How do I find executive compensation data for a company?"
4. "How do I find analyst reports on a particular company?"
5. "Where can I find Vault or Wetfeet guides?"
6. "How can I compare a company's performance to its industry's performance?"
7. "How do I find corporate annual reports?"
8. "How do I find recent news / magazine articles about a company?"
9. "What resources do you have for international company research?"
10. "What are the best databases for researching companies?"
11. "I was told to get a "corporate profile" for a company.  What am I looking for?"
12. "How do I found out which companies are ranked at the top of their industry?"

1.  "I am on the closed interview list for a company I know nothing about. Help! "

If you are trying to secure a job with a particular firm, see our Management Library Guides, including Career Research Tips for MBAs.

2.  "I need financial information about a specific company. Where should I start?"

• Capital IQ provides comprehensive information on more than 42,000 public companies, 518,000 private companies, 9,500 private capital firms, 230,000 transactions, and 881,000 professionals worldwide. Capital IQ provides easy-to-use financial analysis tools for financial statement analysis, comparables analysis, financial modeling, sector analysis, and charting, plus high-level overviews of industries, financial markets, and regional economies. Capital IQ is only available to current members of the Johnson School community during the academic year, on campus or remotely, and requires registration for a personal account.
• Mergent Online provides access to financial data for companies worldwide, but the financials in spreadsheet format are more detailed (less consolidated). Mergent Online will also create multi-company financial comparison reports and contains information on corporate fixed income and equity issues, joint ventures, property, and subsidiaries, as well as a detailed history of capital changes (stock splits, acquisitions, divestitures, etc.)
• Recommended free Internet sources you might want to check are available via the Company Information section of our list of free web sites.
• If the company is private, little or no specific financial information beyond sales figures may be available about the company. Try to find articles via Factiva or LexisNexis. Both contain thousands of full-text newspapers and business periodicals; you may be able to locate articles which quote company officials discussing the firm's finances.

3.  "How do I find executive compensation data for a company?"

Executive compensation packages are published in the "Proxy" statement, an SEC filing which contains items on which shareholders must vote. You can either:

• View just the extracted compensation data via the Execucomp database in Market Insight. In Market Insight, search by company name or ticker symbol to find the executive compensation reports for the company.

4.  "How do I find analyst reports on a particular company?"

The Management Library primarily provides access to analyst reports via Thomson One Banker.

• Thomson One Banker delivers full-text reports in their original published formats, complete with charts, photographs and graphics. It contains reports (the most recent are usually a couple of weeks old) on companies as well as on industries. To access analyst reports in Thomson One Banker, click on "Research" in the "Company Analysis" menu on the left.

5.  "Where can I find Vault Guides?

All Cornell students have access to Vault's Online Career Library.

6.  "How can I compare a company's performance to its industry's performance?"

Consult our FAQ on Industry Research.

7.  "How do I find corporate annual reports?"

Consult our How to Find Annual Reports research guide. It will help you locate electronic or paper copies of corporate annual reports.

8.  "How do I find recent news / magazine articles about a company?"

• Try the article databases Factiva and Business Source Complete. Each contains thousands of full-text newspapers and business periodicals.
• See our Article Research Guide for an overview of additional electronic article/news resources. This guide also provides sample exercises.

9.  "What resources do you have for international company research?"

Check out our extensive International Business Research resource list. It will point you to country handbooks, country/regional directories, and selected electronic databases.

Also, remember that researching companies, whether they are international or domestic in scope, involves the same series of steps.   

10.  "What are the best databases for researching companies? "

Depending on the sort of company research you are doing, you may want to use a range of databases. Check our overview of recommended company databases to determine which database(s) will help you the most.

11.  "I was told to get a "corporate profile" for a company.  What am I looking for?"

Corporate profiles (also known as "corporate descriptions") are overviews of companies which often include a company history, list of corporate officers, etc. Many resources contain this information, but here are a few top starting points:

• Electronic Databases - Hoover's Online provides company histories, overviews, financials, product lines, competitors, officers, and more. Note: Parts of Hoover's profiles are also available via Factiva and LexisNexis.
  
  
• Free Internet Resources - Consult the Company Web Sites section of our list of free web sites.
• Paper Resources - The International Directory of Company Histories (HD 2721 I62 in Ready Reference) provides lengthy histories on U.S. and international companies as well.

12.  "How do I find out which companies are ranked at the top of their industry?"

More than 5,000 company rankings can be found in Business Rankings Annual. This resource is available through Business and Company Resource Center and in print (Z7164 T87 B97 in Ready Reference).

The Nestle Library at Cornell's Hotel School has put together a web page for hospitality rankings that lists rankings for many industries in the hospitality sector.

Still can't find the answer you're looking for? Send a question to Ask A Librarian or stop by the reference desk during reference hours.