Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT
Until EDGAR Online began operational, Compustat was (arguably) the only provider of financial statement information with accompanying database development capabilities. While EDGAR Online has received relatively little attention in the literature to date, we posit that the use of Edgar Online could flourish given the recent XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) reporting mandate of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). In this regard, we identify the differences between Compustat and EDGAR Online in terms of data presentation as well as database development capabilities and product pricing. Our results suggest that differences exist between data presentation, database development capabilities as well as product pricing. In turn, we believe that such differences may facilitate EDGAR Online's competitive position with respect to Compustat.
Keywords: Compustat; Databases; EDGAR; Edgar Online; XBRL
INTRODUCTION
Compustat is (arguably) the most dominant provider (in terms of market share) of financial statement information with accompanying database development capabilities. However, given the recent XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) reporting mandate of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), we believe that EDGAR Online could position itself to take market share from Compustat in the future. Specifically, we posit that differences exist between Compustat and EDGAR Online in terms of data presentation as well as database development capabilities and product pricing may facilitate EDGAR Online's competitive position with respect to Compustat.
Our analysis is organized as follows. We begin by providing an overview of Compustat, EDGAR and EDGAR Online. Therafter, we analyze the differences between Compustat and EDGAR Online in terms of data presentation as well as database development capabilities and product pricing. We conclude with a commentary based on the results of our analysis.
BACKGROUND: COMPUSTAT, EDGAR, AND EDGAR ONLINE
In this section of the paper we provide a background overview of Compustat, EDGAR, and EDGAR Online. Our analysis of differences between Compustat and EDGAR Online is found in the next section of the paper.
Compustat
Compustat (www.compustat.com) provides accounting and market data to academic researchers and financial professionals. Compustat data can be obtained from Compustat North America - Wharton Research Data Services (a.k.a., Wharton Data Services). The following description of the Compustat North America database is provided by Wharton Data Services (http://wrds.wharton.upenn.edu):
Compustat North America is a database of U.S. and Canadian...