SEC (MA in Social Entrepreneurship and Change): Private Companies

Finding information on private companies can be tricky since they are not required to make a whole lot of data about their operations public.  

Unlike public companies, private companies are not required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) so the information that can be found in those documents is not necessarily available for companies that are private. Many times after a merger (or for other reasons) a company that was once was public chooses, or is forced, to go private.