Skill: corporate-intelligence-investigator
Time: ~20 minutes

Goal

Find the legal entity, jurisdiction, and officer history for a company mentioned in accountability research.

Prerequisites

• Company name (and state/country if known)
• Browser; optional free account for higher query limits

Steps

1. Open OpenCorporates.
2. Enter exact legal name; if too many hits, add jurisdiction filter.
3. Open the best match; record company number and incorporation date.
4. Review officers and filings tabs; screenshot or export for your research log.
5. For each officer of interest, repeat search as person only if they are public figures or already in public filings.
6. Cross-check one data point (address or agent) against a state SOS portal if stakes are high.

Pitfalls

• Common names → false merge.
• Dissolved companies → status still matters for historical timelines.

Next steps

• Tutorial — OpenSanctions screening
• Tutorial — Beneficial ownership tracing