ACC251 Intermediate Accounting I - Fall 2004
Library and Information Resources
Prepared by Connie McDowell, faculty librarian
An online version of this guide is available at:
http://northonline.sccd.ctc.edu/cmcdowell/classes/ACC251/ACC251Fall2004.htm
Or, follow these links from the library’s home page:
Librarian Web Pages – Connie McDowell – Links for Classes
Finding Articles about Your Topic
To find articles on your topic in magazines, newspapers and journals, try any of the following periodical
databases available through the library's home page (click on periodical databases.) No password is
necessary on campus. You can also access these databases from off campus, using your student ID number
and last name.

ProQuest Direct
Contains more than 3,000 periodical titles -- a mix of full-text and citation/abstracts.

ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry
A subset of ProQuest Direct; contains more than 1,000 business oriented publications, with about
70% of titles available as full text (entire article.)

CQ Researcher
CQ Researcher, published by CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Press, reports on a current social issue
each week. Reports are approximately 12,000 words long and provide: background information,
important points to consider, charts and graphs, and a source list for further reading. Frequently
covered topics include public policy, public opinion, economics, education, environment,
government, law, and medicine.
Refer to the handout on searching the ProQuest databases, or download a handout from the online version
of this guide.
Finding Books in the NSCC Library
Use the library catalog to search for books on accounting, companies, etc. Access the library catalog from
the library's home page. You can search by keyword or by Library of Congress Subject heading.
Keyword Searching
With a keyword search, you can choose your own search terms -- any words you think might be in the record
for a book or other item, for example:
accounting fraud
enron
North Seattle Community College Library
http://dept.sccd.ctc.edu/nslib
Library of Congress Subject Heading
When you search by subject, you need to use Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Below are
some subject headings that might be useful for your research:
Accounting (see related subdivisions)
Accounting--Moral and ethical aspects
Auditing, Internal
Corporations--Accounting--Corrupt practices--United States
Corporations--Accounting--Corrupt practices--United States--Prevention
Enron Corp.--History
Financial statements
Financial statements--United States--Auditing
Fraud
Managerial accounting
Misleading financial statements
To find more, do a keyword search and see what subjects are listed for a relevant book. Or, ask a reference
librarian.
Reference Books
The following reference books (located on the main floor of the library) may be useful for your research:
Accountant's encyclopedia
Accountant's handbook
Blackwell encyclopedic dictionary of accounting
Encyclopedia of business
Encyclopedia of busine$$ and finance
Encyclopedia of small business
GAAP Generally accepted accounting principles
REF HF5621.P7
REF HF5621.A22 1991
REF HF5621.B54 1998
REF HF1001.E466 1995
REF HF1001.E467 2001
REF HD62.7.H553 1998
REF HF5616.U5G33 2001
Finding Financial Information on a Company
For links to the following resources, see the online version of this guide.
Mergent Online
You can search this database if you have a library card from the Seattle Public Library.
EDGAR Database
The EDGAR Database at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) web site contains the SEC filings
that public companies are required to submit. These filings contain very detailed information on companies,
including financial data, a thorough description of the company, legal issues, stock ownership, executives
officers and salaries, etc. There are many different types of SEC filings. The most useful are the 10-K, which
is an annual report and a 10-Q, a quarterly report, and the 8-K, which is a "current report" used to report
important new information not previously reported.For an overview of some of the more common SEC filings,
click here.
Company Web Site
For financial information, look for a link that says "Investor Relations" or "Financial Information." Here you will
find SEC filings, earnings information, stock prices, etc.
Useful Web Sites
See the online version of this guide for a list of useful web sites.
North Seattle Community College Library
http://dept.sccd.ctc.edu/nslib