All companies, foreign and domestic, are required to file registration statements, periodic reports, and other forms electronically through EDGAR. Anyone can access and download this information for free.

SEC EDGAR Database

Yahoo! Finance is a media property that is part of Yahoo!'s network and provides financial news, data and commentary including stock quotes, press releases, financial reports, and original content.

Yahoo! Finance

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

NAICS

Bloomberg.com provides news to financial companies and organizations

Bloomberg

The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, provides the national with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.

U.S. Federal Reserve

Moody's Investors Service provides international financial research on bonds issued by commercial and government entities.

Moody's

Purchasing STATA
The University of Arizona does have a purchase plan with STATA for faculty and students which gives a discounted price of STATA for these users.

Faculty and graduate students interested in purchasing STATA should follow these steps:

1. Go to the STATA Grad Plan Method 3 website at http://www.stata.com/order/
2. Purchase the desired type of STATA that you want. If you are not familiar with the different kinds of STATA, you can find some information by clicking here and then scrolling down to the bottom.
3. You will be sent an email from STATA with instructions on how to pick up your software. The software is stocked at the Arizona Cancer Research Center.

Downloading the R-System
A very similar program to S-Plus called "R" is available for download for free (the program is in the public domain). R and S-Plus are both based on the same base language, the "S" language. Hence, their syntax is similar. To download R, access the CRAN website at: https://cran.r-project.org/. 

Site licensing for SAS software at The University of Arizona is controlled by the Computing and Technology Store (CATS) in the basement of the main UA bookstore (at the Union). Purchase the license there, and, if SAS CDs are currently not checked out, they should offer them to you for checkout. If they are not currently available, your name will be placed on a waiting list and you will be contacted when the CDs become available for your use.

CATS will process your SAS license (normally the day you purchase it) and when the processing is completed, CATS will send you an email with a special file attached called the setinit file. This file serves as the "key" to the CDs. You will not be able to do your SAS installation without it.

Once you have the SAS CDs and the setinit file, you are ready to begin the SAS installation. If you need assistance with your installation, please email the Data Czar and they will set up a time to help you.

A few things to remember...

1. Keep your receipt! This is your proof that you own a valid SAS license and if you need installation assistance, the Data Czar will ask you to display it before assisting you.
2. When you purchase your license, CATS will ask you to provide a completed registration form. This form can be downloaded at:

   http://uabookstore.arizona.edu/downloads/SAS.pdf

3. It is best to return the SAS disks as soon as possible to the bookstore. Rumors are circulating that they are now charging large late fees for individuals that check out SAS disks and keep them for longer than a few days. Ask when you check out the disks what the CATS return policy is.
4. If you have a question about installation, contact the Data Czar or for questions about your specific license, contact Gale Elliott at CATS.

Related Information and Questions

For more information, look at The UA SAS website at: http://uabookstore.arizona.edu/technology/stulicense.asp

How long does the typical SAS installation take?
Expect the SAS installation to take between 20 and 45 minutes, depending on the speed of your computer.

SAS is licensed for use under contract signed by the Arizona Board of Regents and available through the University of Arizona BookStores/CATS.

SAS Registration Form (Faculty/Grad Students Only)

UA Software Licensing serves the University of Arizona campus community by providing public domain, bulk purchase, volume, and site-licensed software. 

UA Site Licensing

A U-System account allows access to a UNIX environment for building websites and running utilities, compilers, and software applications. 

Unix Software at UA

Getting a new University Computer Account
You can setup your UA NetID (for accessing a variety of university services) by clicking here.

Learn about setting up other university accounts at the following sites:
http://rc.arizona.edu/

Getting your UA UITS Accounts Setup
UA UITS Unix Computing Accounts and Information
http://uits.arizona.edu/services/u-system

UA UITS Wireless Network Information
http://uits.arizona.edu/services/network

Getting Your Computer Added to the Eller College Network
If you recently purchased a new computer, or have brought a computer (or laptop) from home to use in the finance department, you should be able to access internet and email by simply plugging your computer in to the network (via ethernet cable).

If you will be using your computer in the office frequently or permanently, however, and you want to access Eller college network drives and other resources such as the departmental network printer, you will need to have your computer added to the Eller College Active Directory.

The official process for a computer to be added to the active directory along with more information can be requested from Eller IT Support by sending an email request to Eller IT Support. If you decide to send an email request, be sure to include:

1. Your first and last name
2. Your exact location in the finance department
3. In the subject line, put "Active Directory Addition"
4. The exact name of your computer (How can this be found? Right click on "My Computer">>properties>>Computer Name tab>>and look at value next to "Full Computer Name")
5. Your relation to the Finance Department
6. Request that a person from Eller IT assist you in adding your computer to the active directory.

After you submit your request, a Eller IT technician will contact you or stop by (normally within 1 or 2 business days) to get your computer set up. After the technician gets your computer setup for accessing the Eller College Network, the Data Czar can help you gain access to the departmental printer and common network (S:) drive. If you have any difficulties during this process or if you need assistance, contact the Data Czar.

Getting Setup to work on the U System
The U-System is The UA's unix system that most individuals in the department of finance and accounting will access in order to conduct research and access certain sets of data. The UA offers numerous applications for use in the unix environment of the U System including SAS, Fortran 77 and 90/95 (information on accessing IMSL libraries is here), Matlab, S-Plus, and several others. A complete list of the applications available on the U system is here.

After you have access to the Unix system, you will need to get further permission to access the "/fa" folder system which is where all of the financial and accounting data is stored. Permission is given by the Accounting department. Email your request to accounting@eller.arizona.edu in order to get this permission set. Be sure to include your association with the department (e.g. why do you want to access the financial data?) and your U system username.
Once you have this permission set, create your working research directory and set some unix preferences. From there, it's all about knowing some basic unix commands (for navigating the unix system and working with files and directories) and working on the Fortran code itself.

Other Links

University Research Computing Support

Data Czar Notes
If you are having difficulty connecting to the U System, make sure that 1) you are using the "SSH Secure Shell" program (regular telnet is not secure enough and will not work), and 2) that you have a valid research account for accessing the U-System. (Note this is not the same as an eller account. Normally this is your UANetID.)

The CRSP Programmer's guide (and other guides) can be accessed on the Finance Department Common Drive at: S:\dataczar\crspguides.

If you have any other questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact the Data Czar.

The Department of Finance maintains access to a number of Bloomberg Terminals for use by faculty and researchers. In addition, undergraduate and graduate students in various finance classes make use of the Bloomberg Terminals to provide them with real-time financial data and economic descriptors for class projects.

Bloomberg terminals for undergraduate students are located in the Financial Markets Center, Room 136. Bloomberg terminals for graduate students are located in the Graduate Computer Lab, Room 335. The terminals are distinctive because of its "dual display" configuration.

The Bloomberg service provides comprehensive quotes, financial data, and news on numerous companies, as well as data on equity and debt securities and markets.

Access and use of the Bloomberg terminals is restricted to authorized users (faculty members and approved student users). A username and password is required for access, which (if you are using Bloomberg for a class) will be given to you by your professor. If you are a faculty member and need assistance with accessing the Bloomberg terminal, please contact the Data Czar.

Reporting Problems to Eller Information Technology

Submit a Request
The best way to request support for a computer-related problem from Eller IT Support is to send email to: support@eller.arizona.edu.

Sending an email enables Eller IT Support to make a record of your support request and then assist you as soon as they are able. It is also possible to submit a support request online: submit request now.

Response Time
Depending on the nature of your request, the normal response time to a submitted request is 1 or 2 days. If Eller IT Support has to take your computer to their office, they normally are able to return it within 3 business days.

Software licensing provides public domain, bulk purchase, volume, and site-licensed software. This service provides students, faculty, staff, and departments free or low-cost software, including Microsoft, Adobe, and Sophos (antivirus) products.

UA Free Software

Starting Out
The University of Arizona and the Finance Department subscribe to numerous scholarly journals in the fields of finance, economics, accounting, and related areas of study. If you are a professor or student looking for an electronic version of a published work but are unsure of where to find it, a good initial search is the following:

1. Go to http://www.library.arizona.edu
2. Click on "Show all E-Journals" at the top right hand side of the page.
3. Click on "Electronic Journals A - Z"
4. Type in the title of the journal that you are looking for.
5. Depending on the date of the article you are looking for, if the library subscribes to the journal, it will provide you with links on where to find the article.

Google Search If you are unable to find the journal you are looking for here, one suggestion to find a paper is to do a Google search using quotation marks around the exact title of a paper that you are looking for. This will often turn up a copy of a paper that is otherwise hard to find! http://www.google.com

Quick Reference List
Here is a quick reference list (in no particular order):

• Journal of Business
  Access on JSTOR
   
• Journal of Finance
  Access on JSTOR (or through UA Library website)
   
• Journal of Financial Economics
  Access at Science Direct
   
• Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis
  Access on JSTOR
   
• Review of Financial Studies
  Access on JSTOR
   
• Journal of Accounting Research
  Access on JSTOR
   
• Journal of Accounting and Economics
  Access at Science Direct
   
• Accounting Review
  Access through ABI INFORM on the UA Library website​