Break the Wall • Dana Davis • Web Developer

Breaking Down Corporate Walls: My Journey into Financial Transparency

Have you ever wondered how much your CEO makes compared to the average worker at your company? Or tried to understand the layers of management that seem to exist between decision-makers and the people doing the actual work? I certainly have, and that curiosity led me to build something I call "Break the Wall" – a tool that makes corporate financial data as transparent as it should be.

The Spark: Why Corporate Transparency Matters

The idea came to me during one of those late-night scrolling sessions where I stumbled upon yet another news story about executive compensation that seemed completely disconnected from company performance. I found myself thinking: "This information is all public – it's in SEC filings – but why is it so hard to access and understand?"

That's when I realized the problem wasn't just about data availability. It was about accessibility. Sure, you can technically find executive compensation data in SEC filings, but good luck making sense of those dense, legal documents without a finance degree!

What Exactly is "The Wall"?

I coined the term "wall" to describe the barriers that protect corporate executives from accountability. These aren't literal walls, but rather:

Management Layer Depth: Those endless hierarchical structures that seem designed more to diffuse responsibility than streamline operations
Compensation Concentration: When executives make hundreds of times more than their average worker
Board Independence: Or rather, the lack thereof – when board members are essentially buddies protecting each other
Stock Option Abuse: Performance-disconnected compensation packages that reward executives even when companies tank
Golden Parachutes: Those cushy safety nets that protect executives from the consequences of poor decisions

My tool calculates a "Wall Thickness" score based on these factors. Think of it as a transparency rating for corporations.

Building the Technical Foundation

Choosing the Right Stack

When I started this project, I knew I needed a tech stack that could handle real-time data processing while maintaining excellent user experience. Here's what I landed on:

Next.js 14 with the App Router for modern React development
TypeScript because, let's be honest, debugging JavaScript without types is like programming blindfolded
TailwindCSS + shadcn/ui for that clean, professional look that screams "trust me with your financial data"
TanStack Query for efficient data fetching and caching
Recharts + D3.js for those satisfying data visualizations
SEC EDGAR API as the primary data source (it's free and official!)

The SEC Data Challenge

Working with SEC data was like learning a new language. The EDGAR API is incredibly comprehensive, but it's designed for compliance, not user experience. I spent countless hours figuring out how to parse proxy statements (DEF 14A forms) to extract executive compensation data.

Here's a simplified version of what I built to handle SEC data:

class SECClient 

  async getCompanyFacts(cik: string) /api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK$.json`,
      
    )
    return response.json()
  }
}

The tricky part was respecting the SEC's rate limits (they recommend max 10 requests per second) while keeping the user experience smooth. I implemented a queue system that batches requests and caches results for 24 hours.

The Wall Thickness Algorithm

This is where the magic happens. I developed a proprietary algorithm that analyzes multiple factors to determine how "thick" a company's wall of protection is:

interface WallMetrics 
}

The algorithm weighs factors like:

Management depth: How many layers exist between the CEO and front-line workers
Pay ratios: CEO compensation vs. median worker pay
Board composition: Independent directors vs. insider connections
Compensation structure: How much pay is tied to actual performance

Companies get rated from "Thin Wall" (good transparency) to "Fortress" (maximum opacity). It's surprisingly satisfying to see a company with terrible governance get a "Fortress" rating!

Making Data Beautiful (and Understandable)

One of my biggest challenges was taking mind-numbing financial data and making it visually compelling. Nobody wants to stare at endless tables of numbers, right?

Interactive Visualizations

I built several chart types to tell the story:

Compensation Breakdown Charts: Pie charts that show how executive pay is divided between base salary, bonuses, stock options, and other compensation. It's eye-opening to see how little of executive pay is actually "salary."

Pay Ratio Comparisons: Scatter plots that compare companies within the same industry. You can quickly spot outliers – those companies where the CEO makes 1000x more than the median worker.

Corporate Hierarchy Maps: Interactive tree diagrams that visualize management structure. Some companies have so many layers it looks like a family tree from a soap opera!

Here's a simplified version of the compensation breakdown component:

const CompensationBreakdown = (: ) => ,
    ,
    ,
    // ... more data points
  ]

  return (
    
      
         `$ $%`}
        />
        
      
    
  )
}

The Legal Tightrope

Building a tool that exposes corporate financial data comes with serious legal considerations. I had to be extremely careful about:

Data Sources and Attribution

Only Public Data: Everything comes from SEC filings that are legally required to be public
Proper Attribution: Every data point links back to the original SEC filing
No Personal Information: I only display what's already in public corporate disclosures

Responsible Use Guidelines

I implemented several safeguards:

Clear disclaimers that this isn't investment advice
Transparent methodology so users understand how metrics are calculated
Direct links to source documents for verification

The goal isn't to shame anyone, but to make public information actually accessible to the public.

Performance Lessons Learned

Working with large datasets taught me some valuable lessons about performance:

Caching Strategy

I implemented a multi-layer caching system:

Browser cache for static assets
Redis cache for processed company data (24-hour expiration)
CDN cache for charts and visualizations

API Rate Limiting

The SEC doesn't mess around with rate limits. I learned to:

Queue requests to stay under 10 requests/second
Batch similar requests together
Cache everything possible to minimize API calls

class SECRateLimiter  catch (error) 
      })
      this.processQueue()
    })
  }

  private async processQueue() 
}

Real-World Impact and User Stories

Since launching Break the Wall, I've been amazed by how different people use it:

For Investors

Investors use the platform to evaluate corporate governance before making investment decisions. One user told me they avoided investing in a company after seeing its "Fortress" wall rating and subsequently watched that company tank due to governance issues.

For Journalists

Several journalists have used the tool to research stories about executive compensation. The ability to quickly compare pay ratios across an entire industry has helped them identify outliers worth investigating.

For the General Public

Perhaps most importantly, regular people use it to understand how their companies work. I've received messages from employees who finally understood why their company seemed so bureaucratic after seeing the management hierarchy visualization.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Data Quality Issues

SEC filings aren't always consistent. Companies report compensation data differently, making apples-to-apples comparisons tricky. I spent weeks building normalization algorithms to handle these discrepancies.

The Moving Target Problem

Corporate structures change constantly. Mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations mean the data is always evolving. I had to build systems to detect and handle these changes gracefully.

Performance at Scale

When the tool gained traction, I learned hard lessons about database performance. Apparently, running complex calculations on thousands of companies simultaneously isn't as easy as it sounds! 😅

What's Next?

I'm constantly working on improvements:

Advanced Analytics

I'm experimenting with machine learning to predict compensation trends and identify patterns in corporate governance. Early results are promising!

International Expansion

Currently, the tool focuses on US companies, but I'm exploring ways to include international data. The challenge is that different countries have very different disclosure requirements.

Community Features

I'm considering adding features like user comments and crowdsourced data validation. The goal is to create a community of people interested in corporate transparency.

The Technical Stack Deep Dive

For fellow developers interested in the technical details:

Frontend Architecture

// Main technology choices and why I made them
const techDecisions =

Database Design

I use a PostgreSQL database with careful indexing for performance:

Company data partitioned by filing year
Indexed searches on ticker symbols and company names
Materialized views for complex calculations that don't change often

API Design

The API is designed around REST principles with GraphQL-style query flexibility:

// Example API endpoint structure
GET /api/companies/AAPL/wall-metrics
GET /api/companies/AAPL/compensation?year=2023
GET /api/industries/technology/benchmarks

Conclusion: Breaking Down Barriers

Building Break the Wall has been one of the most rewarding projects of my career. It combines my love for data visualization, my interest in corporate governance, and my belief that transparency makes markets work better.

The most satisfying part isn't the technical challenges (though those were fun) – it's the emails from users who say the tool helped them understand something important about a company they work for, invest in, or just read about in the news.

Corporate transparency shouldn't be a luxury available only to those with finance degrees and expensive data subscriptions. Public information should be... well, actually accessible to the public.

If you're interested in corporate governance, data visualization, or just curious about how much your CEO makes compared to you, check out Break the Wall. And if you're a developer interested in contributing or building something similar, the code is open source on GitHub.

Together, we can break down the walls that hide corporate accountability and build a more transparent business world. 🚀

Disclaimer: Break the Wall is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not investment advice, and all data is sourced from public SEC filings. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.