10.1 List Board members.
10.2 Summarize any recent Board changes.
10.3 Provide biographies of Board members.
10.4 What other corporations are Board members associated with? Are they important? Why?
10.5 List any other news items about Board members (social clubs, political activity).
Many privately held firms do not have boards of directors, but a growing number do. Because they are not accountable in the same way that the board is for a publicly-traded firm, it is often difficult to find information about them. The company web site is the best place to start. Corporations Canada on the Industry Canada website provided basic information of Directors, and you contact Corporation Canada for the addresses of Directors.
The Canadian section of Search Systems links to corporate registration information at the provincial level in the “corporations and business” tab. The level of information available and whether there is a fee involved varies by Province. You may also want to explore other types of public information that is available.
The System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI) is Canada’s on-line, browser-based service for the filing and viewing of insider reports as required by various provincial securities rules and regulations.
Open Corporates also provides access to public records on privately held firms worldwide.
Use a Canadian News Search to look more carefully at board activity. Also, make sure to examine local newspapers and media outlets in the city in which the firm is located. Some of this information many not show up on a general search.
Firms and top management are increasingly using a variety of social media, and it is becoming an important research tool. LinkedIn is a popular business social-networking site. You need to be a member to search (membership is free), and you can search by companies as well as individuals. Facebook is becoming very popular with individuals and firms, and can be a great source of information. You need to be a member but membership is free.
Carleton Resources (for Carleton students only)
Factiva allows you to search for news on the board of directors. The Datamonitor Report from Business Source Complete (you will need to select Business Source Complete from the list) also provides some basic information on the Board. Look under “company profiles” for the Datamonitor report.