In most countries, the law determines what information companies must make public and the deadline for disclosure. The requirements vary according to country and type of company (public or private). The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales has written a Knowledge guide to international company registration  which outlines the basic rules for a variety of countries. See also RBA Information Service’s Official Company Registers  page.

Legal requirements directly affect what data is available for analysis. The general rule is that more data is available more quickly for public corporations than for private businesses, and some data may not exist for some private companies. An awareness of this situation helps you to know what data is likely to be easy to access and where difficulties may occur or you may have to accept defeat. To try and avoid defeat with private companies, see section 2.4 .