LibGuides: O'Neill Capstone Guide: Financial Research

Help! I don't have access to my client's financials.

If you need to conduct a financial analysis for your capstone project, sometimes the company's financial information is not available because it is privately held and do not disclose. When this happens you can use the following research strategies to help you find information needed to create your financial analysis.

Research financial ratios for the industry.
Research industry business expenses.
Identify public companies within the industry that you can use as proxies for your company. You will want to look at more than one so you can determine an average.

Where to find Financial Ratios

Bizminer This link opens in a new window
Find financial and market analysis for different industries for any US radius, zip code, county, metro or state. 9000 industries; market data refreshed monthly.
IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Industry research, industry risk rating reports, and business environment reports.

Bloomberg
In Library Use Only. Allows users to drill into sectors to get industry specific trends and analysis including an industry primer, critical themes, key financial indicators, competitor data, and market share.

Enter BI and hit Enter/GO.

D&B Hoovers (formerly Global Business Browser) This link opens in a new window
To find industry ratios, search for your industry and look for an RMA Industry Norms report.
There has been an issue at times with accessing D&B Hoovers, especially off campus, due to DUO authentication. Specifically, if people had set their DUO authentication to remember them for seven days, and try to access one of these systems, they may find they cannot gain access to the database in question.

If and when this occurs, we recommend as a best solution to OPEN AN INCOGNITO WINDOW and access the database in that way. This will force the person to reauthenticate in DUO at the time of access and solve the problem.
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Mostly article database, but with industry ratios and market research reports.

Finding Business Expenses

GuideStar This link opens in a new window
You must be a current member of IUPUI faculty, staff, or students to use this resource. Comprehensive data on nonprofit organizations, connecting them with donors, foundations, businesses, and governing agencies in a nationwide community of giving.
IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Industry research, industry risk rating reports, and business environment reports.

Business Expense Surveys - US Census
Search using NAICS codes. Access retail, manufacturing, wholesale, and service annual expense surveys. Data are cumulative for the entire US industry for a given year. Can be useful in determining target market potential and in financial analysis.
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Tip: If the data are not available at the 6-digit level of the NAICS code, look for it at a lower level, such as 5-digit and 4-digit.

E.g. The 6-digit code for chocolate candy manufacturing made from cacao beans is 311351, so if that data are not available look for 31135. Note that 5 digit level sums all numbers available at the six digit level so the 31135 number includes both chocolate manufactured using cacao beans and chocolate candy manufactured using purchased chocolate.

Identifying Companies to Act as Proxy

Industry research and market research will help you find public companies. Some suggested resources:

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Industry research, industry risk rating reports, and business environment reports.
Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA) This link opens in a new window
Consumer and business information including market information. Search by company name, type of business, geography, business size, and more.
Known issues with Google Chrome Browser: a latest update to Chrome may interfere with this resource; you may wish to try a different browser.
MarketResearch.com Academic This link opens in a new window
Market trends and qualitative insights in consumer and business markets. Features market research publishers Kalorama Information (Healthcare / Life Sciences), Mind Commerce (Technology), Freedonia Focus Reports (industry research, and Packaged Facts (Consumer).

Once you identify public companies, you will need to examine their financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, and cash flows). When you find a public company operating, you can look at their company profiles to identify other competitors. Suggested resources:

D&B Hoovers (formerly Global Business Browser) This link opens in a new window
Search for company profiles, executives, news, and industry information. Company profiles include business focus, history, competition, SWOT analysis, executive, news coverage, and financial reports. Industry information includes access to market research, industry norms, industry ratios. Access issues? click on "more..." below
There has been an issue at times with accessing D&B Hoovers, especially off campus, due to DUO authentication. Specifically, if people had set their DUO authentication to remember them for seven days, and try to access one of these systems, they may find they cannot gain access to the database in question.

If and when this occurs, we recommend as a best solution to OPEN AN INCOGNITO WINDOW and access the database in that way. This will force the person to reauthenticate in DUO at the time of access and solve the problem.
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Global business and financial information, including Investext database, which provides analyst reports.