Many people and companies use a 10-K and annual report as sources of financial statements for different purposes. However, in order to keep information safe, they need to learn how to cite these reports in different formats, like APA and MLA referencing styles. Basically, this knowledge allows researchers to use valid information and follow the requirement of academic integrity. In turn, readers can recheck information presented in reports to approve the day. Hence, this guide is developed for those who want to learn how to cite a 10-K/Annual Report in APA and MLA, including in-text citations and footnotes.
How to Cite a 10-K/Annual Report in APA
A company’s annual report is similar to a 10-K report about the business by considering a financial statement, and the in-text citation follows the author-date format and a page number if applicable. For example, an in-text citation in an essay is as: the number of automotive sales in the first quarter of 2020 is 4893, and it is higher compared to the first quarter of 2019 (Tesla, 2020). Additionally, the full reference on the “References” page follows the APA’s who-when-what-where format. It has the following pieces of information:
- Author
- Date
- Title
- Access information
The author of the report is likely the company itself, or an individual author, and access information is the type or location of the document. In order to learn how to cite a 10-K/Anual Report in APA, check out the example:
Tesla. (2020). Form 10-K 2020. Retrieved from https://ir.tesla.com/static-files/c1723af4-ffda-4881-ae12-b6f3c972b795
How to Cite a 10-K/Annual Report in MLA
An in-text citation for the annual report follows the author-page format, and full reference on the “Works Cited” page follows the who-what-where-when format. When giving credit to the source in the in-text citation, people place the company in parentheses. For example, the company’s annual report shows that the number of automotive sales revenue is increased by $2.32 billion compared to 2018 (Tesla 50). Additionally, the full reference should entail the company’s title, the report’s title, the publication location, and the year of publication, all indented. For example:
Tesla. “Annual Report 2019.” Annual Reports, 2019, http://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NASDAQ_TSLA_2019.pdf.
How to Cite and Incorporate a 10-K/Annual Report as a Footnote in APA and MLA
A footnote at the end of a page has a number for every note and page numbers cited. In the case of online sources, there are surnames of authors (organization titles) and paragraphs without page numbers. Further on, for library databases, people add surnames of authors and page numbers. For example:
APA
1. From “2020 Annual Report” by Tesla, 2020, p. 20.
If you need to indicate a paragraph, use “para.” insted of “p.”
MLA
1. Tesla 50
If you need to indicate a paragraph, add “par.” and indicate the number of a paragraph. For pages, just indicate the page number.