Business

• Industry information
• Industry classification codes
• Industry financials and ratios
• Industry / trade journals and newspapers
• Industry associations
• Industry statistics
• Canadian trade resources

Industry information

Canada only:

Industry Canada

Includes industry profiles. Enter industry keyword in search box.

Associations Canada

This resource provides a listing of Canadian Associations. Associations may provide detailed information on their respective industry. N.B. Be sure to uncheck all databases, with the exception of Associations Canada.

Canada, U.S. and international:

IBISWorld

Contains Canadian, US and Chinese Industry Reports, iExpert Summaries, and Business Environment Profiles. Industry market research reports contain such information as trends, statistics & analysis on market size, market share of major companies, industry growth rates, and key external forces affecting supply and demand.

ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry

Contains Business Monitor International (BMI) Industry Reports and First Research Industry Reports. To access the BMI Industry Reports, click the "Browse" link at the top, then select the link for BMI Industry Reports under Industry and Market Research. You can start browsing either by industry or by location. To find country-specific industry forecasts, click the "+" sign next to business forecasts to expand options. These BMI quarterly reports contain either 5 or 10-year forecasts.

Marketline

Provides industry reports and analysis including Porter's Five Forces analysis. Enter in keyword. Select "Industries" from drop-down menu.

S&P NetAdvantage

Includes Industry Surveys. Click the Industries tab.

LexisNexis Academic

Contains select industry reports. On main page, click "Search by Content Type", then under "Companies", click on "Dossier(Company, Executive, & Industry)". Click on the "Industry" tab. Run a search by industry keyword or SIC code. Can also browse SIC code industry hierarchy. On Industry Overview page, click "Reports".

Passport GMID

Offers industry/market analysis and forecasting. Select an industry from drop-down "Industries" menu or enter keyword in search box.

Industrial classification codes

Many government websites, and some databases, organize business information using an industry classification system, with a specific code for each industry. You may find it helpful to look up the code for your industry as part of your research.

Note: If you are researching a very specific or very new industry, it may not be included in these industry classification systems.

The two most common industry classification systems are NAICS and SIC. Both are hierarchical, organized by broad industry categories, each divided into more specific industries.

NAICS (North American Industry Classification System)

Developed in 1997, by Canada, the United States and Mexico. Industry codes are from 2-6 digits long.

SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)

An older industry classification system. NAICS was intended to replace SIC, however, some resources still use SIC codes to classify information.

Industry financials and ratios

Canada only:

CFMRC/TSX Database Annual Update

Contains Toronto Stock Exchange historical data, including monthly stock data since 1950 and daily data since 1975, daily and monthly index data, and interest and foreign exchange rates. Additional information relating to earnings, betas, and volume is also included. Access via the CHASS platform maintained by the University of Toronto. On CHASS, click the link under "Latest Edition" to start.

Financial Performance Data

Presents financial data for small and medium-sized businesses (revenues ranges of $30 thousand to $5 million and $5 million to $20 million) in more than 1000 industries in Canada, including more than 30 performance benchmarks. Reports feature statistics for profitable and non-profitable businesses that includes net profits and net losses, and detailed financial data on revenues and expenses, industry averages for income statements and balance sheet items as well as financial ratios. Consult this research guide on how to create a report for a specific industry.

Financial Performance Indicators

Contains key financial ratios by industry groupings compiled from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS 2007) from 1994 to 2011. Statistics Canada continues to provide information on Canadian businesses through alternative data sources. Information on specific financial ratios continues to be available through the annual Financial and Taxation Statistics for Enterprises program: Table 33-10-0006-01; the Quarterly Survey of Financial Statements: Tables 33-10-0007-01 and 33-10-0008-01.

Industry Norms & Key Business Ratios

Comprises of a set of business ratios, measured as relationships between companies' balance sheet and income statement categories, across industries as per Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. Coverage from 2004 to 2011 and available online at CHASS.

Canada, U.S. and International:

IBISWorld

Provides Canadian, US and Chinese industry reports. Enter industry keywords, NAICS code, or company name in the search box. Data on revenue, wage, cost structure, profits, etc. are included within the report.

Factiva

Captures industry averages and ratios. Click on the Companies/Markets tab on the top of the screen and then select Industry. Choose an industry.

Marketline: Advantage

Enter industry keyword in the search box > select "Industry Profiles" from the drop-down menu. On the results page, refine the results by sector, geography or date if necessary. Open the industry analysis report and click View Online, View as PDF or Export Full Report. Total market value and revenue data, and financials of major players in this industry are included within the report.

E-Statement Studies

Contains composite financial data, including ratios, on major types of industries mostly US-based. Arranged by NAICS code, this work makes it possible to compare one company's performance relative to other companies in the same industry. Search for industries using either their name (or partial name) or by NAICS code.

Mergent (D&B) Key Business Ratios

Features 14 key business ratios for public and private companies in 800 lines of business in the U.S. and Canada. Search data by SIC and NAICS code, line of business, asset range and year. Input financial data and instantly compare any balance sheet with industry benchmarks.

S&P NetAdvantage

Key stats and ratios are included in industry profiles. To access, click on the "Markets" tab at the top of the screen and select your industry under the Industries subheading.

Industry statistics

Canadian Industry Statistics

Presents and analyzes industry data on a number of economic and financial indicators using the latest annual data sources from Statistics Canada, including average revenue and average hourly wage. Enter a keyword or NAICS code into the search box.

CANSIM @ CHASS

Provides access to the data series from which many of the Statistics Canada publications are derived.

International Trade Administration

Provides trade statistics for the U.S. Of special note is the U.S. trade data section under "Trade Data & Analysis".

Statistics Canada Data

Contains thousands of tables and reports from all fields and provides fast access to a large range of the latest statistics available in Canada. Enter keywords into the search box. Filter by subject, geography or survey if applicable before running a search. To use a data table, click on the title and use "Add/Remove Data" tab to get customized data.

Industry/trade journals and newspapers

Trade journals and newspapers can be found in the following databases:

• ABI/INFORM Complete
• Business Source Complete
• Canadian Newsstand
• CBCA Complete (Canadian Business and Current Affairs)
• Canadian Periodial Index (CPI.Q)
• Factiva
• LexisNexis Academic

Industry associations

Associations Canada

This resource provides a listing of Canadian Associations. N.B. Be sure to uncheck all databases, with the exception of Associations Canada.

Canadian trade resources

Canada's Gateways

Includes information on Canada’s three main Gateways and Trade Corridors, as well as Foreign Trade Zones

Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database (1988-)

Detailed trade data using the Harmonized System (HS) classification of goods (based on the 6-digit commodity level)

Canadian Trade Commissioner Service

Contains international trade market reports

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Provides useful Canadian trade facts

Trade Data Online

Generates customized reports on Canada and U.S. trade in goods with over 200 countries

• Annual Reports and Regulatory Filings
• Company Overviews
• SWOT Analyses
• Market Share Information
• Company Financials
• Analyst Reports
• Private Companies
• Company Rankings
• Article Databases

Public Companies

Public companies issue securities which are traded on the open market (stock exchange or over-the-counter market). These companies must meet stringent reporting requirements set out by securities regulators, including the public disclosure of financial statements and reports discussing the state of the company.

Information on public companies is considerable and includes everything from company profiles, history, financial statements, recent developments, and corporate social responsibility.

Annual Reports and Regulatory Filings

Sedar

Find annual reports for Canadian publicly-traded companies (from 1997+).

Watch the video tutorial: Finding Canadian Company Annual Reports.

Edgar

Find annual reports for U.S. publicly-traded companies (from 1994+).

Mergent Online

Coverage includes company filings for over 10,000 publicly-traded companies worldwide. Enter the company name or ticker symbol in the search box > click ‘Go’ > once on the company profile page, select the ‘Reports’ tab.

LexisNexis Academic

Coverage includes US company filings. Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right). See the ‘SEC Filings’ section.

ProQuest Historical Annual Reports

Coverage includes 800+ US companies. Filings available from the 1800’s +.

Company Overviews

Mergent Online

Enter company name or ticker symbol in the search box then click ‘Go’.

Marketline Advantage

Enter company name in the search box > select ‘Companies’ from the drop-down menu.

LexisNexis Academic

Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right).

Factiva

Select the ‘Companies/Markets’ tab at the top of the screen and then select ‘Company’.

Passport

Contains global company profiles and SWOT analyses. Search for a company in the top-right search box.

Hoover’s Company Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Select ‘Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship’ and then enter the company name into the search bar, or select ‘Browse by company’.

SWOT Analyses

Marketline Advantage

Enter company name in the search box > select ‘Companies’ from the drop-down menu > click ‘Search’ > Company SWOT analyses can be found within the company profile reports (see the right-hand column of the report).

Passport

SWOT analyses for selected international companies are available in the Global Company Profile reports. Run company search > select ‘Filter Analysis’ and under ‘By Analysis’ select ‘Global Company Profile’ > SWOTs can be found within the reports.

Market Share Information

Market Share Reporter

Provides some information on the market share for Canadian companies, products and/or services but the main focus is U.S. and International. Search by company, product, industry keyword, or industry classification codes.

IBISWorld

IBISWorld industry reports provide market share for companies and products and/or services within Canada and the US. Market share information can be found under the sections ‘Major Companies’, ‘Competitive Landscape’, and ‘Products & Markets’.

Passport

Developed by Euromonitor International, Passport provides data on market share, brand shares, and retail shares of companies and products globally or by country/region. Market share data is generally included in the ‘Market Data’ section of industry reports or in the ‘Competitive Positioning’ section of the global company profiles.

Article Databases

Market Share information can also be found in trade articles. Conduct a search for market share information in the following article databases by using keywords, such as the company’s name with the phrase “market share” or “brand share”.

Business Source Complete

ProQuest Business

Company Financials

Eikon and Datastream

Eikon provides access to real time market data, news, fundamental data, analytics, trading and messaging tools. Datastream provides data on worldwide equities, market indices, economic indicators, fixed income securities and associated indices, commodities and derivatives. Eikon and Datastream can be accessed remotely. We have a limited number of logins. Please check User ID availability, contact libbusiness@wlu.ca to book a time, get login credentials and instructions for using these resources.

Mergent Online

Contains ratio analysis and up to 15 years of financial statements for public companies worldwide. Data can be downloaded into Excel. Enter company name or ticker symbol in the search box, then click "Go" > select the Company Financials Tab.

Watch the video tutorial: Company financials: Mergent Online

SEDAR

Includes Canadian public company profiles and documents (e.g. annual reports), and mutual fund groups' reports (from 1997+).

Watch the video tutorial: Finding Canadian Company Annual Reports.

PitchBook

This resource is a private equity and venture capital database covering a wide range of firms as well as startups. Search thousands of private equity and venture capital deals by hundreds of criteria. Users need to create a personal user account on Pitchbook with their Laurier email address following instructions under Access Requirement.These accounts are deleted every year on June 30th and need to be recreated. Within Pitchbook, "Help Center" at the top right corner provides tutorials on how to run basic and advanced searches.

Factiva

Coverage includes a few years of financial statements, financial ratios, stock price activity, share ownership, and more. Select the Companies/Markets tab at the top of the screen and then select ‘Company’. Enter company name in the search box under Get Company Snapshot, select the right company if more than one company are displayed. Click on "Financial Results" from the left column on Company Snapshot page.

Marketline: Advantage

Enter company name in the search box > select "Company Profiles" from the drop-down menu. On the company listing page, select the company match and you will be directed to the company profile page. Click on "Financials" on the left-side panel.

Nexis Uni

Contains ratio analysis and 3 years of financial statements for public companies worldwide. Select "Business" under "Discover topics" > click on "Find a company" under "Company Dossier" (top left) > Enter a company name > select ‘Financial Overview’ from the left column.

Hoover’s Company Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Contains profiles, including financials, for over 40,000 public and private companies worldwide; financial information for private companies is generally limited. To access: select "Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship" and then enter the company name into the search bar, or select "Browse by company".

Hoover’s IPO Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Contains information on companies that have filed an initial public offering (IPO) (1996-2014); such information includes IPO dates, pricing information, share information, underwriters, company exchange, business description, and contact details. To access: select "Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship" and then enter the company name into the search bar, or browse specific issues according to date.

WRDS: Wharton Research Data Services

WRDS includes databases such as: COMPUSTAT, CRSP, Dow Jones Averages, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Penn World Tables, Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), and Thomson-Reuters Institutional Holdings (13F). It is intended for in-depth financial and accounting research. Registration is required for access. Go to the WRDS website, and click Register at the top right corner. You must provide your Laurier email address for registration.

Top of page

Analyst Reports

Investext (via Mergent Online)

A full-text database of investment research reports. It contains detailed data and analysis on publicly traded companies in a wide variety of industries. The information is contained in reports generated by analysts at research organizations worldwide. Information provided may include trends, sales and earnings forecasts, market share projections, and research and development expenditures. On Mergent click Investext tab, select criteria and click ">> submit" button to execute search.

LexisNexis Academic

Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right) > once on the company’s profile page select ‘Investment Research’ from the left-menu.

Private Companies

Private companies do not issue shares that are publicly traded and are thus not mandated by securities regulators to report their financials and company information publicly. Therefore, information on private companies is limited. You may find a profile, contact information, names of senior executives, brief business description, date of incorporation, and sometimes broad annual sales/revenue estimates that are self-reported.

*When researching a private company, a great place to start is their website.

The following online resources may provide information on private companies:

PitchBook

This resource is a private equity and venture capital database covering a wide range of firms as well as startups. Search thousands of private equity and venture capital deals by hundreds of criteria. Users need to create a personal user account on Pitchbook with their Laurier email address following instructions under Access Requirement. These accounts are deleted every year on June 30th and need to be recreated. Within Pitchbook, "Help Center" at the top right corner provides tutorials on how to run basic and advanced searches.

LexisNexis Academic

Enter company name under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right).

You can also generate a company list in LexisNexis, using either an industry's NAICS or SIC code.

Watch the video tutorial: Build a Company List in LexisNexis

Hoover’s Company Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Select ‘Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship’ and then enter the company name into the search bar, or select ‘Browse by company’.

Scott’s Canadian Directories

Online directory of contact information and profiles for Canadian manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and business services. Select ‘Account Login’ > build a search with different variables including geographic, demographic, products, and other indicators.

Directories of Canadian Companies

Use directories of Canadian companies to find suppliers, research competitors, check a company's federal corporation status and more. Search or browse the directories. Consult with various directories by sector.

Article Databases

Conduct a search for news, trade, or scholarly articles on the company in an article database. See the ‘Article Databases’ section of this guide.

Company Rankings

Canada only:

Report on Business, Top 1000 (Globe & Mail)

• Located in the WLU Reference Shelves – 2nd Floor, call number HG4090 .R45
• Ranks the 1000 largest publicly-traded companies in Canada; measured by assets and ranked according to their after-tax profits in their most recent fiscal year.

Financial Post Magazine, FP500: Canada’s largest corporations

• Located in the WLU Reference Shelves – 2nd Floor, call number HG4090.A1 F5
• Ranks Canada’s 500 largest corporations by revenue, assets, and profitability.

PROFITguide.com, Profit 500

• Ranks the fastest growing companies in Canada, by five-year revenue growth.

U.S. and International:

Fortune, Fortune 500

• U.S. companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years.
• Also available in print: WLU Reference Shelves - 2nd Floor, call number HG4057 .A258

Forbes, Forbes Global 2000

• Annual ranking of the world’s largest public companies, based on a composite score from equally-weighted measures of revenue, profits, assets, and market value.

Fortune, Global 500

• Annual ranking of the largest corporations in the world, by total revenues.

Inc., Inc. 5000

• Ranks the top 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

Article Databases

Articles (news, trade, or scholarly) are a great resource when conducting business research such as learning more about a company (public or private) or industry. Further, article databases bring not only online articles together, but other resources such as company profiles, SWOT analyses, industry reports, and other research reports into one search engine.

Use keywords in the following article databases to find relevant articles and other resources. For example, if you are searching for information on the strategic objectives of a particular company, search for the company’s name with keywords/phrases such as ‘strategy’ or ‘strategic direction’ or ‘strategic objective’.

Business Source Complete

ProQuest Business

Factiva

Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database

Scholars Portal Journals

Emerald Insight

Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly (CPI.Q)

• Basic country research
• Advanced country research

Basic country research

Key resources:

BBC News Country Profiles

Provides a quick guide to the economics, politics and history of countries and territories, including quick facts, profiles of political leaders, an overview of the media market and a chronology of key events.

Europa World Online

Covers political and economic information and selected data on countries and organizations worldwide. Select a country from the drop-down menu and hit "Go".

globalEDGE - Global Insights

Global Insights provides international business and trade information on over 200 countries, 50 U.S. states, as well as nearly two dozen industry sectors, and many of the world’s trade blocs. Under "Global Insights", select from one of the four options: "By Trade Bloc", "By country", "By State", or "By Industry".

LexisNexis Academic

Offers country analysis, country briefings, country risk guides. From main page, click "Search by Subject or Topic", then under "People, Places and Things", select the "Country Information". Type in country name in search box. Click on "Advanced Options" and select same country from the drop-down menu, specify date and select the sources you want to search then click "Apply". Click "Search".

Mergent Online

Provides country statistical data. Select a country from the drop down menu under "Country Profile" (found on the right side, under the calendar).

U.S. Department of Commerce: International Statistical Agencies

Provides links to national statistical agencies arranged alphabetically by country.

World Bank: World Development Indicators

The World Bank's principal data source on the global economy, including demographic, social, economic, financial, natural resources and environmental indicators for more than 200 countries and 18 country groups. First select your country by searching or browsing the country list. Then expand the "Series" to select individual variables. Finally, click "Time" at the bottom to select the year(s) for which you want statistics. View data as a table, chart or map by selecting an output icon at the top right.

World Factbook

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency provides country-specific information, including country profiles and select data. Click on the box indicating “Please select a country to view”.

Advanced country research (risk, cultural intelligence, etc.)

Key resources:

ABI/INFORM Complete

Find country forecasts in ABI/INFORM Complete, which contains the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Country Finance and Forecast Reports. Once in the database, click the "Browse" link at the top, then select the link to the EIU Finance and Forecast Reports under Country Reports.* Scroll down and click on the link next to "forecasts." You can filter the results by country on the right under "Narrow results by."

*Additional country reports are available, including the Oxford Analytica Country Profiles.

Country and Regional Information

Canada. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Country Profiles

UK. Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Countries and Topics

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

International Monetary Fund: Country Information

Select a country from the alphabetical listing.

Marketline

Includes country analysis - PESTLE. Type in country name then select "Countries" from drop-down menu beside the magnifying glass. Click the search icon.

Passport GMID

Includes demographic, economics and marketing statistics for 205 countries. Click on the "Economies" tab and select a topic or use the keyword search box (top right corner).

Country risk research:

Coface

Find Country Risk Assessments for 160 countries, along with information on payment methods, debt collection and insolvency trends. Select a country from the drop-down menu (middle of page) and click "OK."

Factiva

On the search page, click on the "Source" field, search for "Economist Intelligence Unit" (EIU), then select "EIU - Risk Briefing". Select country of interest under the "Regions" field. Once country and source are chosen, click "Search".

Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR)

Published semi-annually by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

LexisNexis Academic

Offers country analysis, country briefings, country risk guides. From main page, click "Search by Content Type", then under "People, Places and Things", select the "Country Information". Type in country name in search box. Click on "Advanced Options" and select same country from the drop-down menu, specify date and select "PRS Risk Guide & Service" to search then click "Apply". Click "Search".

Watch the video tutorial Country risk: Lexis Nexis Academic

Passport GMID

Provides Risks and Vulnerabilities reports to assess the current economic situation across 85 core countries. To access the Country Briefings on Risks and Vulnerabilities, select Economy, Finance and Trade under the Economies tab at the top. Under Analysis Finder on the left, select Country Briefing from the drop-down menu. Then select a country from the drop-down menu (use the + sign to expand the options next to regions). Click "Go." See also the Business Environment reports.

Political Risk Yearbook

Includes all 100 of Political Risk Services' Country Reports, including political and economic risk analysis.

Worldwide Governance Indicators

"The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 215 economies over the period 1996–2016, for six dimensions of governance: voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption." Click "Interactive data access", then click the "Country Data Review" tab. Under "Worldwide Governance Indicators" select indicator, year and country.

World Investment and Political Risk

"World Investment and Political Risk examines general trends in the global economy and FDI, corporate perceptions of political risk and risk-mitigation strategies, as well as the latest developments in the Political Risk Insurance industry." Please note that no new reports have been issued since 2013.​

Cultural intelligence/business abroad:

Canada and International Trade

Canada. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Canadian Trade Commissioner Service

Canada. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Country Insights

Centre for Intercultural Learning, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is Canada's "largest provider of intercultural and international training services for internationally-assigned government and private sector personnel." Select a country from the drop-down menu to find information on topics ranging from conversation styles to cultural stereotypes.

Doing Business

The World Bank Doing Business project provides measures of business regulations and their enforcement in 189 economies that allow for comparisons across countries and over time.

Exporting

Canada Business Network. Government Services for Entrepreneurs

PKF: Doing Business in

PKF International Limited provides information about the financial, legal considerations that could affect business dealings within a particular country.

U.S. Commercial Service

U.S. Department of Commerce

World Values Survey

The World Values Survey is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life. It consists of nationally representative surveys conducted in almost 100 countries. Click “Data and documentation” and then click on “online analysis”. Click on a wave period and select a country to see the data.

This guide provides information sources to help you conduct research on finance. Watch recordings to learn how to navigate some of the key databases described below.

• Company Financials
• Industry Financials
• Government Finance
• International Finance
• Personal Finance
• Citing Sources

Company Financials

Eikon and Datastream

Eikon provides access to real time market data, news, fundamental data, analytics, trading and messaging tools. Datastream provides data on worldwide equities, market indices, economic indicators, fixed income securities and associated indices, commodities and derivatives. Eikon and Datastream can be accessed remotely. We have a number of logins for booking. Please check User ID availability, contact Yanli Li to book a time, get login credentials and instructions for using these resources.

WRDS: Wharton Research Data Services

WRDS includes databases such as: COMPUSTAT, CRSP, Dow Jones Averages, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Penn World Tables, Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), Thomson-Reuters Institutional Holdings (13F), and more. It is intended for in-depth financial and accounting research. Registration is required for access. Go to the WRDS website, and click Register at the top right corner. Your Laurier email address is required for registration. The Getting Started page provides instructions on using CRSP Monthly Stock file to retrieve one year of monthly prices for three securities.

PitchBook

This resource is a private equity and venture capital database covering a wide range of firms as well as startups. Search thousands of private equity and venture capital deals by hundreds of criteria. Users need to create a personal user account on Pitchbook with their Laurier email address following instructions under Access Requirement. These accounts are deleted every year on June 30th and need to be recreated. Within Pitchbook, "Help Center" at the top right corner provides tutorials on how to run basic and advanced searches.

Mergent Online

Contains ratio analysis and up to 15 years of financial statements for public companies worldwide. Data can be downloaded into Excel. Enter company name or ticker symbol in the search box, then click "Go" > select the Company Financials Tab.

CFMRC/TSX Database Annual Update

Contains Toronto Stock Exchange historical data, including monthly stock data since 1950 and daily data since 1975, daily and monthly index data, and interest and foreign exchange rates. Additional information relating to earnings, betas, and volume is also included. Access via the CHASS platform maintained by the University of Toronto. On CHASS, click the link under "Latest Edition" to start.

SEDAR

Includes Canadian public company profiles and documents (e.g. annual reports), and mutual fund groups' reports (from 1997+).

Factiva

Coverage includes a few years of financial statements, financial ratios, stock price activity, share ownership, and more. Select the Companies/Markets tab at the top of the screen and then select ‘Company’. Enter company name in the search box under Get Company Snapshot, select the right company if more than one company are displayed. Click on "Financial Results" from the left column on Company Snapshot page.

Marketline: Advantage

Enter company name in the search box > select "Company Profiles" from the drop-down menu. On the company listing page, select the company match and you will be directed to the company profile page. Click on "Financials" on the left-side panel.

Nexis Uni

Contains ratio analysis and 3 years of financial statements for public companies worldwide. Select "Business" under "Discover topics" > click on "Find a company" under "Company Dossier" (top left) > Enter a company name > select ‘Financial Overview’ from the left column.

Hoover’s Company Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Contains profiles, including financials, for over 40,000 public and private companies worldwide; financial information for private companies is generally limited. To access: select "Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship" and then enter the company name into the search bar, or select "Browse by company".

Hoover’s IPO Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Contains information on companies that have filed an initial public offering (IPO) (1996-2014); such information includes IPO dates, pricing information, share information, underwriters, company exchange, business description, and contact details. To access: select "Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship" and then enter the company name into the search bar, or browse specific issues according to date.

Top of page

Industry Financials

Canada only:

Financial Performance Data

Presents financial data for small and medium-sized businesses (revenues ranges of $30 thousand to $5 million and $5 million to $20 million) in more than 1000 industries in Canada, including more than 30 performance benchmarks. Reports feature statistics for profitable and non-profitable businesses that includes net profits and net losses, and detailed financial data on revenues and expenses, industry averages for income statements and balance sheet items as well as financial ratios. You can follow steps to create a report for a specific industry.

Canadian Industry Statistics

Presents and analyzes industry data on a number of economic and financial indicators using the latest annual data sources from Statistics Canada, including average revenue and average hourly wage. Enter a keyword or NAICS code into the search box.

Financial Performance Indicators

Contains key financial ratios by industry groupings compiled from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS 2007) from 1994 to 2011. Statistics Canada continues to provide information on Canadian businesses through alternative data sources. Information on specific financial ratios continues to be available through the annual Financial and Taxation Statistics for Enterprises program: Table 33-10-0006-01; the Quarterly Survey of Financial Statements: Tables 33-10-0007-01 and 33-10-0008-01.

Industry Norms & Key Business Ratios

Comprises of a set of business ratios, measured as relationships between companies' balance sheet and income statement categories, across industries as per Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. Coverage from 2004 to 2011 and available online at CHASS.

Canada, U.S. and International:

IBISWorld

Provides Canadian, US and Chinese industry reports. Enter industry keywords, NAICS code, or company name in the search box. Data on revenue, wage, cost structure, profits, etc. are included within the report.

Factiva

Captures industry averages and ratios. Click on the Companies/Markets tab on the top of the screen and then select Industry. Choose an industry.

Marketline: Advantage

Enter industry keyword in the search box > select "Industry Profiles" from the drop-down menu. On the results page, refine the results by sector, geography or date if necessary. Open the industry analysis report and click View Online, View as PDF or Export Full Report. Total market value and revenue data, and financials of major players in this industry are included within the report.

E-Statement Studies

Contains composite financial data, including ratios, on major types of industries mostly US-based. Arranged by NAICS code, this work makes it possible to compare one company's performance relative to other companies in the same industry. Search for industries using either their name (or partial name) or by NAICS code.

Mergent (D&B) Key Business Ratios

Features 14 key business ratios for public and private companies in 800 lines of business in the U.S. and Canada. Search data by SIC and NAICS code, line of business, asset range and year. Input financial data and instantly compare any balance sheet with industry benchmarks.

S&P NetAdvantage

Key stats and ratios are included in industry profiles. To access, click on the "Markets" tab at the top of the screen and select your industry under the Industries subheading.

Top of page

Government Finance

Statistics Canada

Contains thousands of tables and reports from all fields and provides fast access to a large range of the latest statistics available in Canada, such as government revenue and expenditure, interest rate, exchange rate, etc. Type keywords in the search box. Filter by subject, geography or survey if applicable before running a search. To use a data table, click on the title and use "Add/Remove Data" tab to get a customized report. Tutorial: How to use the data tables.

CANSIM @ CHASS

Provides access to the data series from which many of the Statistics Canada publications are derived.

Bank of Canada

Find banking and financial market statistics, surveys as well as policy papers.

Top of page

International Finance

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - FRED: Economic Data

Provides historical U.S. economic and financial data, including daily U.S. interest rates, monetary and business indicators, exchange rates, balance of payments and regional economic data.

Datastream

Provides access to international macroeconomic and financial time series for around 175 countries (includes IMF and OECD data). This resource can be accessed remotely through Excel add-in with Eikon Desktop. We have a number of logins for booking. Please check User ID availability, contact Yanli Li to book a time, get login credentials and instructions for access.

IMF Data

Includes data on government finance, international financial statistics, balance of payments, and much more. Major economic and financial indicators are available on annual, quarterly or monthly basis where applicable. Click on the Data Topics tab and then select one database, e.g. International Financial Statistics.

OECD iLibrary

A wide variety of socio-economic indicators at the annual, quarterly and monthly frequencies for OECD member countries. Click on the Statistics tab, and search statistics by keyword, country, indicator or select a database.

World Development Indicators

The primary World Bank collection of global development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources. Select countries, series and time, then click the Apply Changes button. Data are available on an annual basis only.

UNdata

Statistics from all the major UN sources. Click Datamarts tab. On the Explore page, select Datasets and click the +sign in front of the database name to find the datasets of your interest; or select Sources or Topics to search data.

Top of page

Personal Finance

ODESI

Contains microdata from Statistics Canada, Elections Canada, as well as polling data. Click on Browse at the top right of the homepage, browse the categories on the left-side panel and select a resource. For instance, in the Consumer Surveys folder, Survey of Financial Security (SFS) provides data on financial assets, debts, networth and financial behaviours and attitudes of survey participants. You can select variables and subsets from the survey and download data files in Stata or SPSS formats.

Tutorial: How to Find and Download Microdata via Odesi

Tutorial: Downloading a Subset in Odesi (from Scholars Portal)

Tutorial: Creating a Cross Tabulation in Odesi (from Scholars Portal)

Top of page

Citing Sources

Citation Styles

The Laurier Library provides guidance on citing in different styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) and by subject including government publications and data and statistics.

Business Citation Guide

Developed by business librarians at Bronfman Business Library at York University, this guide provides great examples of citing business resources including industry reports, company reports, analyst reports from databases.

Citing Economics and Financial Databases

Includes examples of in-text citation and reference citation for financial and economics databases

Top of page