Publicly-owned corporations create and disseminate many types of reports. Two of the more commonly known are the Annual Report to Shareholders and the Form 10-K report. An annual report is the means by which a company communicates with its shareholders. Since it is an unofficial document, some of its contents may vary, but a report always includes balance sheet data and a list of officers. It may include sections which describe company activities, future plans, forecasts and other information often not available elsewhere. A Form 10-K report is the official annual business and financial report filed by public companies with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Required to file with the SEC are companies with at least 500 shareholders of one class of stock and at least $5 million in assets. This document contains comprehensive information about the company including detailed financial information, a business summary, a list of properties, subsidiaries, legal proceedings, etc.
A Form 20-F is the official financial report data filed with the SEC by foreign registered companies.
