What is SEDAR?
SEDAR is a searchable database for public company financial statements, annual reports, and other documents in Canada. SEDAR stands for: System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval. It is a required filing system for all publicly listed Canadian companies.
Link to the website -> http://www.sedar.com/homepage_en.htm
What documents can be found on SEDAR?
Below is a list of the main documents that can be found on the database portal:
- Annual Information Form
- Annual Report
- Annual Statement of Payments
- Code of Conduct
- Directors’ Circular
- Disclosure Document
- Early Warning Report
- Financial Statements
- Fund Facts / Fund Summary
- Issuer Bid Circular
- Listing Application
- Management’s Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
- Marketing Material
- Material Change Report
- New Releases
- NI 43-101 Notice
- Notice of the Meeting and Record Date
- Noice of Use of Proceeds
- Offering Document
- Offering Material
- Offering Memorandum
- OTC Issuer Filings
- Prospectus
- Proxy Circular
- Proxy Solicitation
- Real Estate Offering Document
- Report of Exempt Distribution
- Statement of Executive Compensation
- Take-over Bid Circular
- Technical Report NI 43-101
Which companies are included?
The database includes public company filings for all publicly listed companies on any Canadian exchange, as well as all mutual funds.
There is a search function and an alphabetical listing to search for specific companies. In total, there are hundreds of companies included.
How to analyze financial statements?
Once you have looked up a company on the Canadian SEDAR system, it’s time to start performing some analysis of financial statementsAnalysis of Financial StatementsHow to perform Analysis of Financial Statements. This guide will teach you to perform financial statement analysis of the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement including margins, ratios, growth, liquiditiy, leverage, rates of return and profitability. See examples and step-by-step instruction.
CFI has published many guides on the topics of valuationValuation MethodsWhen valuing a company as a going concern there are three main valuation methods used: DCF analysis, comparable companies, and precedent transactions. These methods of valuation are used in investment banking, equity research, private equity, corporate development, mergers & acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and finance, financial modelingWhat is Financial ModelingFinancial modeling is performed in Excel to forecast a company's financial performance. Overview of what is financial modeling, how & why to build a model. A 3 statement model links income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. More advanced types of financial models are built for valuation, plannnig, and, and how to be a great financial analystThe Analyst Trifecta® GuideThe ultimate guide on how to be a world-class financial analyst. Do you want to be a world-class financial analyst? Are you looking to follow industry-leading best practices and stand out from the crowd? Our process, called The Analyst Trifecta® consists of analytics, presentation & soft skills.
To learn more, browse our online courses on:
Additional resources for public company analysis
This overview of the SEDAR system in Canada for public company filing systems is just the first step towards understanding how to read, analyze, and interpret financial statements. Once you know where to get the information, and you have the tools to analyze (courses listed above) then it’s time to practice.
Follow these steps to practice financial analysis on your own:
- Visit SEDAR and download a company’s financial statementsThree Financial StatementsThe three financial statements are the income statement, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows. These three core statements are intricately linked to each other and this guide will explain how they all fit together. By following the steps below you'll be able to connect the three statements on your own.
- Input the numbers into Excel
- Perform a detailed analysis
- Build a financial modelFree Financial Modeling GuideThis financial modeling guide covers Excel tips and best practices on assumptions, drivers, forecasting, linking the three statements, DCF analysis, Excel modeling and much more. Designed to be the best free modeling guide for analysts by using examples and step by step instructions. Investment banking, FP&A, research
- Make educated investment decisions
You may also want to browse these additional relevant resources from CFI:
- List of public company databasesPublic Company FilingsA financial analyst has to search for public company filings, financial statements, reports, and other company information. Here are ways to find them
- efinancialcareers job searchefinancialcareersefinancialcareers is a valuable online resource for jobs in finance, banking, accounting, and insurance. The website provides a wide range of news, guides, job postings, and information candidates are looking for in their financial career search.
- Finance interview questionsInterviewsAce your next interview! Check out CFI's interview guides with the most common questions and best answers for any corporate finance job position. Interview questions and answer for finance, accounting, investment banking, equity research, commercial banking, FP&A, more! Free guides and practice to ace your interview
- Financial modeling guideThe Analyst Trifecta® GuideThe ultimate guide on how to be a world-class financial analyst. Do you want to be a world-class financial analyst? Are you looking to follow industry-leading best practices and stand out from the crowd? Our process, called The Analyst Trifecta® consists of analytics, presentation & soft skills
