The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), an umbrella group of Canadian provincial securities commissions, accumulates and publishes all documents that public companies are required to file under securities law. This database may be accessed from the CSAS website: www.sedar.com.
Instructions
Visit the CSA website and find the company documents for Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada. Company financial statements may also be accessed through the company websites ('www.bmo.com and www.rbcroyalbank.com).
Answer the following questions:
(a) What types of company documents may be found here that provide useful information for investors who are making investment decisions?
(b) Locate the annual information form. Explain the nature of the information that it contains. As a financial statement analyst, is this information useful to you? Why or why not?
(c) Who are the auditors of both banks?
(d) Which stock exchange(s) do the banks trade on?
(e) Go to the company websites directly. Look under Investor Relations. What type of information is on these websites and how is it different from what is found on the CSA website? Should these websites contain the same information as the CSA website?