Is there a service that identifies businesses that are closing or going bankrupt that is publicly accessable?

Question

I'm in a market research class and I need to locate businesses that are going under. Is there a service that lists these? I doesn't matter what state or if it's for the entire U.S. It would be best if I could get it for Utah, where I live, but still it doesn't matter.

Answer 1

There is no as such service in market which list these companies or companies itself i think dont like to be listed! Thing i sthat there are tools aand methods available to asses. One of the most commonly and widely accepted tool used to asses a company's future in financial term, is called ALT MAN Z Scroe , which i am gona present for you, there is a tip of FORBIS.com go there or email them might you gonna get a hint.

The Altman Z-Score Analysis

How's your Fiscal Fitness?

Routinely used by Stockbrokers trying to determine if a company is a good investment, Bankers to determine loan risk, and internally, by anyone who wants to take close look at his or her own company's financial health.

Data Needed: (Easily found in your company's financial statements.)

• Earnings before taxes
• Total assets
• Net Sales
• Market Value of Equity
• Total Liabilities
• Working Capital
• Retained Earnings

The worksheet will indicate: The short-term potential for financial problems at your company.

The Expert: Edward I. Altman, Professor and Vice-Director of New York University's Salomon Center, Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Dr. Altman is known as the founding father of using statistical techniques to predict company failure. He developed the Z-Score analysis almost 30 years ago, and is the author of several books, including The Z-Score Bankruptcy Model: Past, Present, and Future (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1977), and Corporate Financial Distress and Bankruptcy, 2nd edition (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1993).

The Analysis: The Z-score was developed from an analysis of 33 Chapter X-bankrupt manufacturing companies with average assets of $6.4 million, and, as controls, another 33 companies with assets between $1 million and $25 million.

Altman's Z-score calculates five ratios:
1. return on total assets,
2. sales to total assets,
3. equity to debt,
4. working capital to total assets, and
5. retained earnings to total assets.

These ratios are then multiplied by a predetermined weight factor, and the results are added together. The final number--the Z-score--yields a number between -4 and +8. Financially-sound companies show Z-scores above 2.99, while those scoring below 1.81 are in fiscal danger, maybe even heading toward bankruptcy. Scores that fall between these ends indicate potential trouble. In Altman's initial study of 33 bankrupt companies, Z-scores for 95 % of these companies pointed to trouble or imminent bankruptcy.

Although the numbers that go into calculating the Z-score (and a company's financial soundness) are sometimes influenced by external factors, it provides a good quick analysis of where your company stands compared to the competition, and a good tool for analyzing the ups and downs of your company's financial stability over time.

RATIOFORMULAWEIGHT FACTORWEIGHTED RATIO
Return on Total AssetsEarnings Before Interest and Taxes
----------------------------------------
Total Assetsx. 3.3-4 to +8.0
Sales to Total AssetsNet Sales
----------------------------------------
Total Assetsx 0.999-4 to +8.0
Equity to DebtMarket Value of Equity
----------------------------------------
Total Liabilitiesx 0.6-4 to +8.0
Working Capital to Total AssetsWorking Capital
----------------------------------------
Total Assetsx 1.2-4 to +8.0
Retained Earnings to Total AssetsRetained Earnings
----------------------------------------
Total Assetsx1.4-4 to +8.0
.
Your Z-Score is:

2003200420052006TREND
Z-Score

KEY:

Z-SCORE ABOVE 3.0 -The company is safe based on these financial figures only.

Z-SCORE BETWEEN 2.7 and 2.99 - On Alert. This zone is an area where one should exercise caution.

Z-SCORE BETWEEN 1.8 and 2.7 - Good chances of the company going bankrupt within 2 years of operations from the date of financial figures given.

Z-SCORE BELOW 1.80- Probability of Financial embarrassment is very high.

Answer 2

not that I know of, but companies with current ratios (current assets:current liabilities) that are 1:2 or 1:3 are in serious trouble, or those running out of cash (look for a series of balance sheets with lower cash balances and lots of cash used in operations) as being another warning sign

any business can be profitable but go out of business--many papers have been written about that