Is it harder to find out who works for a privately held company vs a publicly traded company?”
Form 10-K The federal securities laws require publicly traded companies to disclose information on an ongoing basis. For example, domestic issuers (other than small business issuers) must submit annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K for a number of specified events and must comply with a variety of other disclosure requirements. The annual report on Form 10-K provides a comprehensive overview of the company’s business and financial condition and includes audited financial statements. Although similarly named, the annual report on Form 10-K is distinct from the “annual report to shareholders,” which a company must send to its shareholders when it holds an annual meeting to elect directors.
I have often researched companies looking especially to “chart” the organization, at least at the top. Private companies can share what they want to share. Sometimes, the leadership will be on the website. Other times, one can sleuth out some of the organization from press releases and articles. But, often, one can be in the dark. Public companies have to file many reports with the SEC. It is generally easy to find out who is on the Board of Directors and the names of the company’s principal officers. Mind you, principal officers does not necessarily include all of the significant senior executives in the company. Many annual reports include lists of senior management in the back. Combining this plus a close read of the annual report plus a scan of management changes and organizational announcements in the press can generally give an outsider a decent idea of the organization structure. Of course, carefully placed phone calls into the company can often resolve any ambiguities or gaps i
