Babson College LibGuides - Business Plan Research

Find SEC Filings (10-K, etc.)

Capital IQ
Instruction Guide
ThomsonONE Banker
Instruction Guide
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SEC's EDGAR Database

For margin analysis and developing financial statements and projections:

Benchmark with a key publicly-held company. Use the resources below to look up the annual 10-K or registration statements for companies similar to yours. Use the competitor sources to identify companies.
Study industry norms developed by associations and others. Sources for ratios and representative statements are listed below.
Consult the U.S. Census monthly, annual and Economic Census reports described on the Market Share/Size page for seasonality, sales/wages ratios and other data.

RMA eStatement Studies
Instruction Guide
Updated annually, RMA provides 5-year downloadable comparisons plus breakdowns by asset, sales and regional categories.
BizMiner
Instruction Guide
Excellent source for industry ratios.

Dun & Bradstreet's Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios - Dun & Bradstreet
Call Number: HF5681.R25 I53 (Information Desk 1)
D&B covers most SIC codes.
Financial Studies for Small Business - Financial Research Associates
Call Number: HD2346.U5 F55A (Information Desk 1)
Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios - Troy, Leo
Call Number: HF5681.R25 T68 (Stacks)
Please note: this is a reference book that can only be used in the Library.
Troy's Almanac is based on IRS returns and thus provides some unique ratios, more breakdowns by sales ranges, and separate ratios for returns with net profits.
IRS Corporate Ratios - United States. Internal Revenue Service
Call Number: HF5681.R25 I77 (Stacks)
Please note: this is a reference book that can only be used in the Library.
Schonfeld, based on IRS returns, provides additional ratios broken down by size.
Annual Statement Studies - Risk Management Association (RMA)
Call Number: HF 5681 .R25 R62
RMA provides 5-year comparison plus breakdowns by asset and sales categories. Ratio definitions are online as well as an FAQ

You have several options for identifying sources for a specific industry:

Small Business Resource Center
Enter industry keyword and choose Directories tab from results.
Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources HF5353 .E52 (Information Desk 1)
Find specific industry sources, like the annual Restaurant Industry Operations Report: TX909 .A1 R47 (Information Desk 1)

Once you find a title in the Small Business Resource Center or the Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources, search to see if Babson has it:

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