Now who's Edgar?

Edgar who?
"Now who is Edgar by the way?", I eavesdropped from my classmates talking. "Why are we to research about him?" Now, that should be one of the dumbest question one should ever hear.

Well, that is just to harsh to say. I know Edgar can be easily mistaken as an individual. As if an important person so valued that our teacher has required as to research about him. But Edgar in no man, nor any individual to that.

EDGAR (as how it is spelled, all in capital letters) stands for Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System. EDGAR is an online database constructed by the Securities and Exchange Commision in the United States to facilitate companies operating in the country in filling their annual forms with the commision. SEC mentains EDGAR for the filing of registration statements, periodic reports and other filings mandated under the federal securities laws.1 EDGAR performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of submissions by companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its primary purpose is to increase the efficiency and fairness of the securities market for the benefit of investors, corporations, and the economy by accelerating the receipt, acceptance, dissemination, and analysis of time-sensitive corporate information filed with the agency.2
Apart from companies acquiring easy processes of filing their required documents, other companies and interested individuals may find information about these filing companies effortlessly or with less hassle. Having the option of downloading free data from the database is a major benefit that EDGAR gives to its users. For a company, knowing the competitor is very important. Companies can now monitor, determine and make strategies based on the vital information that EDGAR gives. The SEC-EDGAR webpage says, "All companies, foreign and domestic, are required to file registration statements, periodic reports, and other forms electronically through EDGAR. Anyone can access and download this information for free. Here you'll find links to a complete list of filings available through EDGAR and instructions for searching the EDGAR database."

Available Information
EDGAR offers a lot of valuable information for every individual that would take interest. Corporate financial information is what primarily EDGAR offers though searches are available for users to get specifics.

General-Purpose Searches

Companies and Other Filers

• This search works best when you have a specific company in mind. "Search Companies and Filings" allows you to retrieve real-time filings for a specific company and to find key company information — including its name, address, telephone number, state of incorporation, Central Index Key (CIK) number, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, and fiscal year end. Simply type in the name of the company or its CIK number. Note: A CIK is the unique number that the SEC's computer system assigns to individuals and corporations who file disclosure documents with the SEC. All new electronic and paper filers, foreign and domestic, receive a CIK number. You don't need to know a company's CIK, but searching by that number will narrow your search to the exact company you want.
  
• You can also search for all SEC-registered companies in a particular state. Or you can search for all companies with a specific SIC code. For example, if you enter 7370 in the SIC box, you'll retrieve all SEC-registered companies that fall into the Standard Industrial Classification known as "Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc."
  Once you've found the company you want, you can limit the search results by date (for example, "Prior to 2002-01-01") or by the type of filing (for example, "10-K").

Latest Filings

• Here you'll find the most recent filings our EDGAR system has received - from all SEC filers, including individuals and companies, paper filers and electronic filers. The list on this page features the most recent real-time filings from a broad range of companies and individuals for the current official filing date (including filings made after the 5:30 pm deadline on the previous filing day). Note: Filings may be made Monday through Friday (except for U.S. Federal Holidays).
  If you want to retrieve a paper filing, please contact the SEC Public Reference Room and be sure to provide the "Paper/Film #" that appears in blue under the company's name.

Search for Filings Directly

• Perhaps our most powerful and flexible search, "Search for Filings Directly" allows you to search by company name, type of form, or both. You can also narrow your search by selecting a specific date or date range.

Historical EDGAR Archives

• Enter a keyword or phrase to search all header information (including addresses) in all filings in the EDGAR database. You can also use the company CIK as a search term. This search will truncate at 2000 records (filings).
  Tip: For best results when using the Simple search syntax, use lower-case only and make use of phrase delimiters (commas, "and", "or", etc.), which are described more fully on the bottom of the search screen. For example, to search on "Washington Energy" and "Utility", use the keyphrase washington energy and utility.
  

Special-Purpose Searches

EDGAR CIK (Central Index Key) Lookup

• The CIK is a unique identifier assigned by the SEC to all companies and people who file disclosures with the SEC. Simply enter the company's name and click on search to find the CIK. Then use the CIK (including the leading zeroes - e.g., 00001111) as a keyword in your Archives or Forms Lookup search.

Current Events Analysis

• Retrieve filings made during the previous week. For example, you can check 10-K (annual) and 10-Q (quarterly) reports, proxies, and others. Simply select the desired time period and the form you'd like to see. Select "all" if you don't want to limit your search to a particular form.

Mutual Fund Prospectuses

• To view prospectuses for the mutual fund of your choice, enter at least 5 - but no more than 20 - characters of the mutual fund company's name, and then click the "Find Funds" button.
  Tip: Mutual fund companies often register several different funds as one "series" and include information about each of those funds in one prospectus for the series. For example, information about the "XYZ S&P 500 Index Fund" might appear in the prospectus for "XYZ Index Funds." If your search results don't list the exact name of the fund you're seeking, then scan the list for the most logical name, check each prospectus to see whether it covers the fund you're researching, or contact the fund to find out the name of the series to which the fund belongs.3

Using the information
Companies and interested individuals after seaching EDGAR may use these gathered information to effect and develop new strategies, weigh company standing in the market environment, know what competitors are doing and how they are faring each with their own operations. As discussed above, these information can be made as guide in conducting searches about other companies. Finding other companies' information and when making valuable research papers, EDGAR is a very good resource of valuable, timely and accurate information.

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1 "EDGAR" http://www.investordictionary.com/definition/electronic+data+gathering,+analysis,+and+retrieval+system+(edgar).aspx As of 08 February 2006.
2 "Important Information About EDGAR" http://www.sec.gov/edgar/aboutedgar.htm As of 08 February 2006.
3 "How Do I Use EDGAR?"http://www.sec.gov/edgar/quickedgar.htm. As of 08 February 2006