How do I find an external audit report for a publicly traded company? (2024)

Publicly traded companies are required to submit an external audit as part of their annual filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These can be found on the SEC's Edgar database. Look for the company's annual report which is called Form 10-K. Within that report, the audit report is included under Item 8.

After locating the 10-K report "Edgar" provides options for viewing it as a document or interactively. The instructions below are just one way of getting to the information.

1. Select "Documents"
2. Open the full 10-K report (This is usually the first item on the list.)
3. Locate Item 8 (Financial Statements and Supplementary Data)
4. WithinItem 8, locate "Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm"

Additional informationabout rules on filing external audit reports can be found here:https://www.sec.gov/reportspubs/investor-publications/investorpubsaboutauditorshtm.html