Who is this article for?

Users wanting to learn more about WRDS Company Block and Financial Block.

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This article answers the most commonly asked questions for WRDS Company Block and Financial Block.

Company Block

What is the Company Block?

The Company Block refers to Feed12. It provides company-level data for the SEC population that supports and expands the value of all other feeds.

Where can company headquarters country data be found?

Use the Company Block and the variable LOC_STATE_COUNTRY. This field reflects current information only – historical headquarters data is not available.

What are the Accelerated Filer and Large Accelerated Filer indicator variables?

Accelerated and Large Accelerated Filer indicators are documented in the data dictionary for Feed 12. IS_ACCEL_FILER in Feed 12 is the current accelerated filer status of a company. The field uses the following values:

• 1 - Yes
• 2 - Did not disclose
• 0 - No

Note that approximately 30% of companies in the Audit Analytics sample do not disclose accelerated filer status, though disclosure rates are higher among large accelerated filers. In cases where disclosure is absent, supplementing with an independent indicator may be appropriate. Because shares outstanding alone cannot be used to determine float, S&P Float Shares in Compustat (SPFLOAT) can serve as an approximation. This field represents the latest Compustat quarterly shares outstanding multiplied by Standard & Poor's Index Services Investable Weight Factor (IWF).

Where can I find Emerging Growth Company (EGC) variables in WRDS, and how do I retrieve them?

EGC fields are available in the Company Block but do not appear in default query results unless manually selected. To retrieve them via the WRDS web query form:

1. In the WRDS web query form select "Search the entire database."
2. Select "All" to move every variable, including EGC fields, to the selected list.
3. Apply any filters in Steps 1 and 4, then run the query.

Common EGC fields include EGC_IS_EMERGING_COMPANY, EGC_FILE_DATE, EGC_FILE_ACCEPTED, EGC_EARLIEST_FILE_DATE, EGC_EARLIEST_FILE_ACCEPTED, EGC_FORM_FKEY, and EGC_EARLIEST_FORM_FKEY.

How do I identify the historical Accelerated Filer Status of a company?

Feed 16 (ACCELERATED_FILER) tracks historical accelerated filer status disclosures.

To identify historical filer status, join Feed 12 and Feed 16 at the company level using ACCEL_FILER_PE_NUM in Feed 12 and PE_DATE in Feed 16. The historical filer status field in Feed 16 is HST_IS_ACCEL_FILER, which uses the following values:

• 1 - Yes
• 2 - Did not disclose
• 0 - No

Financial Blocks

What are MATCHFY, PRIORFY, and CLOSESTFY, and which should I use?

These fields appear in certain feeds and align audit fee and financial data amounts with a company's fiscal year:

• MATCHFY – data for the same fiscal year as the row
• PRIORFY – data for the immediately preceding fiscal year
• CLOSESTFY – data for the nearest fiscal year, whether prior or subsequent