How to Get Audited Financial Statements: EDGAR, 990s, Private Firms

How you get audited financial statements depends on the type of entity. For a U.S. public company, the statements are free and public on the SEC’s EDGAR system. For a nonprofit, you have a legal right to request the Form 990, and larger organizations often share their audited statements on request. For a private company, there is no general right of public access; you need shareholder inspection rights, a loan covenant, or a due diligence agreement to compel disclosure.

Public Companies: Use EDGAR

Every company listed on a U.S. stock exchange files audited financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.¹ The SEC stores those filings in EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval), and anyone can search them at no cost.²

The document you want is Form 10-K, the company’s annual report. It contains the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and footnotes, all verified by an independent auditor. Inside the 10-K, Item 8 (Financial Statements and Supplementary Data) holds the auditor’s formal report and opinion. Go to the EDGAR full-text search, enter the company name or ticker, filter by “10-K,” and pick the year.³

Foreign Issuers on U.S. Exchanges

Foreign companies that trade on American exchanges do not file a 10-K. They file Form 20-F, due four months after fiscal year end. Foreign issuers may prepare their audited financials under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rather than U.S. GAAP, provided they use the version issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and disclose that fact.⁴ Search EDGAR the same way and filter for “20-F.”

Nonprofits: Form 990 and Beyond

Tax-exempt organizations with $50,000 or more in gross receipts must file Form 990 (or Form 990-EZ) with the IRS each year. The form details revenue, expenses, officer compensation, and program spending.⁵ Federal law requires the nonprofit to make the return available for public inspection, and you can request a copy directly from the organization.⁶ An organization that refuses faces $20 per day up to $10,000 per return, and $100 per day up to $50,000 for organizations with gross receipts over $1 million.⁷ Third-party platforms like Candid (formerly GuideStar) compile 990s into a searchable database.

A 990 is not an audited financial statement. It is the most detailed public financial document most nonprofits produce, but the numbers are self-reported. Larger nonprofits, and those bound by state law or grant agreements, do have audited statements prepared by an independent CPA. Ask the organization directly. Many post audits on their websites; others share them with donors and stakeholders on request, though they are not always legally obligated to do so.

Private Companies: You Need a Legal Basis to Ask

Private companies have no general obligation to share financials with the public. If you want their audited statements, you typically need a legal or contractual basis.

Shareholder Inspection Rights

Shareholders often have inspection rights under state corporate law. In Delaware, where a large share of U.S. corporations are incorporated, any stockholder may demand to inspect the company’s books and records for a “proper purpose” — a reason tied to their interest as an owner, such as investigating suspected mismanagement or evaluating financial condition.⁸ The demand must be in writing and under oath. Other states have similar statutes with varying procedures.

Loan Covenants and Due Diligence

Creditors and lenders commonly secure the right to review audited financials through loan covenants. If you are extending credit, build the requirement into the agreement before closing. Once the deal is signed, you have a contractual right to demand statements on the schedule the covenant specifies. Potential investors typically receive audited financials as part of due diligence, but that access comes from negotiation rather than any public right.

Employee Benefit Plan Filings

Even when a private company’s own financials are closed, its retirement plan filings may not be. Employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants must include audited financial statements in their annual Form 5500 filed with the Department of Labor.⁹ These filings are public and searchable through the DOL’s EFAST2 system. The audited plan financials will not tell you everything about the company, but they show how the company manages its retirement obligations.

If You Are Commissioning the Audit

If nobody has produced an audit and you are the one who needs to get one done, first confirm that an audit is what’s actually required. CPAs offer three levels of financial statement services, and the price difference is significant.

Compilation: The CPA assembles your data into standard statement format but performs no verification and offers no assurance. This is the cheapest option and works for internal use.
Review: The CPA performs analytical procedures and inquiries to identify anything materially off, providing limited assurance. Many lenders accept reviewed statements for smaller loan amounts.
Audit: The CPA examines internal controls, assesses fraud risk, tests transactions, and issues a formal opinion. This is the highest level of assurance and what regulators, major lenders, and investors typically require.

Reviews for small businesses generally run a few thousand dollars. Full audits for small to mid-sized companies typically cost $12,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on complexity, industry, and transaction volume. If a bank or investor asks only for reviewed statements, don’t pay for an audit you don’t need.

When an Audit Is Legally Required

Public companies: Any issuer with securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act must file audited annual financial statements with the SEC.¹
Employee benefit plans: Plans with 100 or more participants must attach audited financials to their Form 5500.⁹
Federal grant recipients: Any non-federal entity that spends $1 million or more in federal awards during a fiscal year must undergo a single audit under the Uniform Guidance.¹⁰
State requirements: Many states require audits from nonprofits above certain revenue thresholds, businesses in regulated industries such as insurance and banking, and entities seeking specific licenses. Thresholds vary widely.
Contractual obligations: Lenders, investors, and franchisors frequently require audited statements as a condition of their agreements even when no law demands them.

Reading the Auditor’s Opinion

Once you have the statements, the opinion is where you find out whether they can be trusted. The auditor’s report falls into one of four categories.

Unqualified (clean) opinion: The financial statements are presented fairly in all material respects. This is what most audits produce. In PCAOB terminology, the auditor found no material misstatements after conducting the audit in accordance with professional standards.¹¹
Qualified opinion: The financials are mostly fair, but a specific issue exists that the auditor could not resolve, either a material misstatement in one area or a scope limitation. The report will explain the problem. A qualified opinion does not necessarily indicate fraud; it may mean the company used a method the auditor disagreed with for a particular line item.
Adverse opinion: The financial statements are materially misstated in a way that is pervasive rather than limited to one area. This is rare and serious.
Disclaimer of opinion: The auditor could not gather enough evidence to form any opinion. This typically signals records so incomplete or unreliable that an audit was essentially impossible. Regulators and lenders treat this as a major red flag.

Going Concern Warnings

Separately from the opinion type, an auditor may include a going concern paragraph. This signals substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue operating over the next twelve months. Common triggers include recurring operating losses, negative cash flow, and loan defaults. A going concern note does not change the opinion type; a company can receive an unqualified opinion with a going concern warning attached. If you are evaluating a company as an investor or creditor, that paragraph deserves more attention than almost anything else in the filing.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 78m – Periodical and Other Reports
2
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Public Companies
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EDGAR Full Text Search
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Form 20-F
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Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organization Annual Filing Requirements Overview
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6104 – Publicity of Information Required From Certain Exempt Organizations and Certain Trusts
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6652 – Failure to File Certain Information Returns, Registration Statements, Etc.
8
Justia. Delaware Code Title 8 – Section 220 – Inspection of Books and Records
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DOL.gov. Selecting an Auditor for Your Employee Benefit Plan
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eCFR. 2 CFR 200.501 – Audit Requirements
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PCAOB. AS 3101 – The Auditors Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion