SEC Filing and EDGAR Database

Introduction 

Business intelligence is critical in evaluating the market forces and customers' data to assist in the production and setting up of price in an organization. Entrepreneurs search inbound and outbound logistics of the existing competitors to design successive strategies to acquire more market share ( Bryson et al., 2020) . Investors can access critical financing and investing decisions of competitors by using the EDGAR search tools website that acts as a library for SEC filing reports. Securities and exchange commission ensures business organizations adhere to reporting policies of the stock value in the market to enhance efficiency and maintain a stable price of a stock ( EDGAR - Search and access , 2019) . Potential investors use EDGAR search tools to access financial and risk reports which are critical before investing or financing in a business. Investors should use EDGAR search tools to asses SEC filing of financial reports before making investing decision of purchasing shares in a public limited company. 

How investors Access Financial Information Using EDGAR Database 

Few steps are involved using the EDGAR website to access submitted reports to the security and exchange market. SEC filing has enacted strict policies that allow companies to transform into public limited companies ( EDGAR - Search and access , 2019) . Companies must adhere to strict Initial Public Offering regulations to eradicate fraud and irregularities in financial reporting. The investor clicks on EDGAR advanced to access a website to fill in details that are specific to a particular company ( EDGAR - Search and access , 2019) . A potential investor can write and search any company to acquire financial information which is critical for analysis and decision making ( Tiwari, 2018) . Brokers provide critical information on the moving average of stock prices that enables a potential investor to make a feasible solution. 

Amazon Company Financial Performance 

Financial reports depict the performance of an organization. Despite the global economic decline, Amazon company has continued to report an increase in profitability and market share. The company has been registering an increase in total sales since 2016 ( Amazon, 2021) . For instance, in 2018 the company reported a total sale of $ 232,887 billion and an operating income of $12, 421 billion ( Amazon, 2021) . Amazon registered a net income of $10,073 billion in the same period ( Amazon, 2021) . Diluted earnings for the same period are $500 per share. The company has continued to report an increasing trend of total sales, of 232,887 billion in 2018, 280,522 billion in 2019, and 386, 064 in 2020 billion ( Amazon, 2021) . Operating income has also shown a rising trend of $12,421 billion in 2018, $14,541 billion in 2019, and 22,899 billion in 2020. Finally, net income has also been showing a rising trend of $500 million, $504 million, $510 million since 2018 ( Amazon, 2021) . Investors can buy shares in the company as the average earning per share keep rising since 2016 ( Amazon, 2021) . Earnings per share trend is $5.01, $6.32, 20.68, $23.46, $42.64 ( Amazon, 2021) . The rising net income has compelled the organization to sell more shares as shareholders can earn dividends on the stock invested. 

Risk of Investing in Amazon Company 

Corvid19 pandemic has crippled the global market of valuation of stock. Amazon company has stock beta of 1.3 and price to earning ration of 138 times implying that sock value is highly speculative. Amazon company has engaged in competitive pricing strategies that compels the company to lower its selling price to prevent new entrants in the industry. Despite uncertainty in revenue growth, Amazon has a wide online market share of over 40% and profit margins of over 4%. Investors face the risk of price volatility, intense competion from Wal-Mart stores and Target corporation which result to intense competition. Amazon company operates a wide product lines domestically and internationally exposing the company to tax liabilities. Investors can evaluate net profit margins, return on investment margins, liquidity ratios, and insolvency rations in financial statements to unravel company performance. The income statement and management reports depict cost centers and revenue centers. 

Assessing Amazon Financial Performance 

Investors can assess Amazon's company financial reports for decision-making. Some of the critical financial reports for decision-making include the current ratio reports, debt-equity ratio reports, gross margin report, return on investment report, return on assets report, and net profit margin report ( Amazon, 2021) . The reports can be illustrated in the following table. 

Ratio Analysis Report 

Financial Report	2020	2019	2018	2017
Current ratio	1.05	1.10	1.10	1.04
Debt/Equity	0.34	0.37	0.54	0.90
Gross Margin	39.56	40.99	40.25	37.06
ROI	17.03	13.56	15.02	5.70
ROA	6.64	5.14	6.19	2.31
Net profit margin	5.52	4.13	4.32	2.10

Investors can critically evaluate the solvency and profitability ratio to analyze the risk factors which the company encounters. Amazon reports indicate that the company can meet short-term and long-term financial obligations. 

Contents of the Report as Shown in Amazon Company 

Financial reports are critical in determining the feasibility of operating an organization. Some of the financial reports discussed in Amazon reports entails; 

Form 10-K SEC Filings 

The security and exchange commission plays a fundamental role in regulating the stock exchange markets. The commission ensures there is transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness in transacting business transactions ( EDGAR - Search and access , 2019) . Form 10-K SEC contains filed financial reports uploaded to demonstrate business performance. 

Annual Reports 

The annual report contains detailed information on organization performance and position. There are many financial reports showing revenues, marketing, cost performance, and so forth. Some of the contents of the annual reports include; statements of financial position, changes in equity, statement of comprehensive income, cash flow statement, ratio analysis, and henceforth ( EDGAR - Search and access , 2019) . Annual reports depict the feasibility of investment by a business organization. 

Management Discussion Analysis 

Management discussion analysis critically evaluates the current financial performance and design strategies which the company tends to achieve in long-term and short-term financial obligations ( Ameen et al., 2018) . Some of the contents in the management discussion include the conflicting interest of management and shareholders, technological innovation, inventory management, operations result, income taxes, liquidity, capital investments, technological innovation, and so forth ( EDGAR - Search and access , 2019) . Management discussion analysis reports help potential investors to ascertain the challenges an organization is facing. The report aid in critical judgment of an organization's performance. 

Management Responsibility for Financial Reporting 

The management has the responsibility to ensure financial reporting is done according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The rationale for adhering to international financial reporting standards is to have uniformity, consistency, and reliability of the financial information ( Wiranegara & Wahyudi, 2018) . The management has the responsibility to ensure internal controls of an organization are not overridden by the management ( El-Helaly et al., 2020) . Some of the contents of Financial reporting include the income statement, balance sheet, Generally Accepted Accounting principles, closing stock valuation, income taxes, and so forth. 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 

SEC filing commission compels organizations to use external auditors to audit reports before filing to the security and exchange market. An organization must have a strong internal control system to eradicate fraud and irregularity ( Fowosire & Idris, 2017) . Internal control systems involve the integration of strong systems which facilitate vouching and tracing of financial reports ( Chalmers et al., 2019) . Some of the contents of internal control entail purchasing systems, sales systems, inventory systems, research and innovation systems, transaction systems, and so forth ( Klumpp & Heragu, 2019) . Internal control reports indicate whether the external auditor can place reliance on the report generated. 

Auditors Report 

The details of auditors' reports are critical in making financial decisions. Internal auditors' independence determines the reliance on internal audit reports. The management has the responsibility of ensuring that the report has followed the Generally Accepted Accounting principles and international financial reporting standards ( Li et al., 2019) . An audit report can be adverse, qualified, unqualified, adverse, and disclaimer opinions ( Teru et al., 2017) . Unqualified reports are submitted to SEC filing for feasible decision making. Some of the contents of the audited internal control systems, management assertions on the reports, audited balance sheets, and financial reporting standards. 

Selected Financial Data 

Business organizations make financial reports which are critical for decision making. The most critical financial reporting reports include a statement of comprehensive income, statement of financial position, cash flow statement, and changes of equity ( EDGAR - Search and access , 2019) . The selected data is important in evaluating the business performance and financial position of an organization. 

Item	Where they appear
Accounts payable	Balance sheet
Accounts receivable	Balance sheet
Cash	Balance sheet
Income tax expense	Income statement
Interest expense	Income statement
Inventories	Balance sheet
Net cash provided by investing activities	Stockholders’ equity
Net cash flow from investing activities	Statement of cash flow
Other expense income	Income statement
Property, plant, and other long term assets	Balance sheet
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	Income statement
Retained earnings	Balance sheet, stockholders’ equity
Net sales	Income statement
Other incomes	Income statement

Financial statement 

Amazon Inc. 

Profit and loss Account 

For the period ended 

31 st December 31 

Millions  Net sales	000,000	000,000  88,988
Cost of sales	(62,752)
Gross profit		26236
Other incomes		76
Interest expense	210
Income tax expense	167
Selling and administrative	26058
Other expense	118	(26553)
Net loss		(241)

References 

Ameen, A. M., Ahmed, M. F., & Abd Hafez, M. A. (2018). The Impact of Management Accounting and How It Can Be Implemented into the Organizational Culture. Dutch Journal of Finance and Management , 2 (1), 02. 

Amazon financial ratios for analysis 2005-2021 | AMZN . (2021). Macrotrends | The Long Term Perspective on Markets. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/financial-ratios 

Amazon financial statements 2005-2020 | AMZN . (2021). Macrotrends | The Long Term Perspective on Markets. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/financial-statements 

Bryson, J. R., Sundbo, J., Fuglsang, L., & Daniels, P. (2020). Supply Chains and Logistics Services. In Service Management (pp. 203-221). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. 

Chalmers, K., Hay, D., & Khlif, H. (2019). Internal control in accounting research: A review. Journal of Accounting Literature , 42 , 80-103. 

El-Helaly, M., Ntim, C. G., & Soliman, M. T. (2020). The Role of National Culture in the Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. 

Fowosire, R. A., & Idris, O. Y. (2017). Technopreneurship: a view of technology, innovations and entrepreneurship. Global Journal of Research In Engineering . 

Klumpp, M., & Heragu, S. (2019). Outbound Logistics and Distribution Management. In Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management (pp. 305-330). Springer, Cham. 

Larkin, R. F., & DiTommaso, M. (2018). Wiley Not-for-profit GAAP 2018: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles . John Wiley & Sons. 

Li, H., Hay, D., & Lau, D. (2019). Assessing the impact of the new auditor’s report. Pacific Accounting Review . 

SEC.gov | EDGAR - Search and access . (2019, December 16). SEC.gov. https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search-and-access 

Teru, S. P., Idoku, I., & Ndeyati, J. T. (2017). A review of the impact of accounting information system for effective internal control on firm performance. Indian Journal of Finance and Banking , 1 (2), 52-59. 

Tiwari, S. (2018). Amazon: customer first approaches. 

Wiranegara, D. A., & Wahyudi, A. (2018). Accounting Principles (an ESP Module for Meeting 3).