Company - Wikipedia

A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific ... Company FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch Forotheruses,seeCompany(disambiguation). "Firm"redirectshere.Forotheruses,seeFirm(disambiguation). 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AnofficebuildingofNokiaCorporationinHervanta,Tampere,Finland. Acompany,abbreviatedasco.,isalegalentityrepresentinganassociationofpeople,whethernatural,legaloramixtureofboth,withaspecificobjective.Companymembersshareacommonpurposeandunitetoachievespecific,declaredgoals.Companiestakevariousforms,suchas: voluntaryassociations,whichmayincludenonprofitorganizations businessentities,whoseaimisgeneratingprofit financialentitiesandbanks programsoreducationalinstitutions. Acompanycanbecreatedasalegalpersonsothatthecompanyitselfhaslimitedliabilityasmembersperformorfailtodischargetheirdutyaccordingtothepubliclydeclaredincorporation,orpublishedpolicy.Whenacompanycloses,itmayneedtobeliquidatedtoavoidfurtherlegalobligations. Companiesmayassociateandcollectivelyregisterthemselvesasnewcompanies;theresultingentitiesareoftenknownascorporategroups. Contents 1Meaningsanddefinitions 1.1Etymology 1.2Semanticsandusage 2Companiesaroundtheworld 2.1China 2.2UnitedKingdom 2.3UnitedStates 3Types 4Seealso 5References 6Furtherreading 7Externallinks Meaningsanddefinitions[edit] Acompanycanbedefinedasan"artificialperson",invisible,intangible,createdbyorunderlaw,[1]withadiscretelegalpersonality,perpetualsuccession,andacommonseal.Exceptforsomeseniorpositions,companiesremainunaffectedbythedeath,insanity,orinsolvencyofanindividualmember. Etymology[edit] TheEnglishwordcompanyhasitsoriginsintheOldFrenchtermcompagnie(firstrecordedin1150),meaninga"society,friendship,intimacy;bodyofsoldiers",[2]whichcamefromtheLateLatinwordcompanio("onewhoeatsbreadwithyou"),firstattestedintheLexSalica(English:SalicLaw)(c.500AD)asacalqueoftheGermanicexpressiongahlaibo(literally,"withbread"),relatedtoOldHighGermangaleipo("companion")andtoGothicgahlaiba("messmate"). Semanticsandusage[edit] By1303,thewordreferredtotradeguilds.[3]Usageofthetermcompanytomean"businessassociation"wasfirstrecordedin1553,[4] andtheabbreviation"co."datesfrom1769.[5][6] Companiesaroundtheworld[edit] TheexamplesandperspectiveinthissectiondealprimarilywithWesterncultureanddonotrepresentaworldwideviewofthesubject.Youmayimprovethissection,discusstheissueonthetalkpage,orcreateanewsection,asappropriate.(June2019)(Learnhowandwhentoremovethistemplatemessage) China[edit] InChinacompaniesareoftengovernmentrunorsomegovernmentsupported.Othersmaybeforeigncompaniesorexport-basedcorporations.However,manyofthesecompaniesaregovernmentregulated.[citationneeded] UnitedKingdom[edit] Seealso:ListofcompaniesoftheUnitedKingdom InEnglishlawandinlegaljurisdictionsbaseduponit,acompanyisabodycorporateorcorporationcompanyregisteredundertheCompaniesActsorundersimilarlegislation.[7]Commonformsinclude: Privatecompanieslimitedbyguarantee Communityinterestcompany Charitableincorporatedorganisation Privatecompanieslimitedbyshares-themostcommonformofcompany Publiclimitedcompanies-companies,usuallylarge,whicharepermittedto(butdonothaveto)offertheirsharestothepublic,forexampleonastockexchange IntheUnitedKingdom,apartnershipisnotlegallyacompany,butmaysometimesbereferredto(informally)asa"company".Itmaybereferredtoasa"firm". UnitedStates[edit] Seealso:ListofcompaniesoftheUnitedStatesbystate IntheUnitedStates,acompanyisnotnecessarilyacorporation.Forexample,acompanymaybea"corporation,partnership,association,joint-stockcompany,trust,fund,ororganizedgroupofpersons,whetherincorporatedornot,and(inanofficialcapacity)anyreceiver,trusteeinbankruptcy,orsimilarofficial,orliquidatingagent,foranyoftheforegoing".[8][9] Types[edit] Foracountry-by-countrylisting,seetypesofbusinessentity. Seealso:Business§ Forms Acompanylimitedbyguarantee(CLG):Commonlyusedwherecompaniesareformedfornon-commercialpurposes,suchasclubsorcharities.Themembersguaranteethepaymentofcertain(usuallynominal)amountsifthecompanygoesintoinsolventliquidation,butotherwise,theyhavenoeconomicrightsinrelationtothecompany.ThistypeofcompanyiscommoninEngland.Acompanylimitedbyguaranteemaybewithorwithouthavingsharecapital. Acompanylimitedbyshares:Themostcommonformofthecompanyusedforbusinessventures.Specifically,alimitedcompanyisa"companyinwhichtheliabilityofeachshareholderislimitedtotheamountindividuallyinvested"withcorporationsbeing"themostcommonexampleofalimitedcompany".[9]ThistypeofcompanyiscommoninEnglandandmanyEnglish-speakingcountries.Acompanylimitedbysharesmaybea publiclytradedcompanyora privatelyheldcompany. Acompanylimitedbyguaranteewithasharecapital:Ahybridentity,usuallyusedwherethecompanyisformedfornon-commercialpurposes,buttheactivitiesofthecompanyarepartlyfundedbyinvestorswhoexpectareturn.ThistypeofcompanymaynolongerbeformedintheUK,althoughprovisionsstillexistinlawforthemtoexist.[10] Alimitedliabilitycompany."Acompany—statutorilyauthorizedincertainstates—thatischaracterizedbylimitedliability,managementbymembersormanagers,andlimitationsonownershiptransfer",i.e.,L.L.C.[9]LLCstructurehasbeencalled"hybrid"inthatit"combinesthecharacteristicsofacorporationandofapartnershiporsoleproprietorship".Likeacorporation,ithaslimitedliabilityformembersofthecompany,andlikeapartnershipithas"flow-throughtaxationtothemembers"andmustbe"dissolveduponthedeathorbankruptcyofamember".[11] Anunlimitedcompanywithorwithoutasharecapital.Ahybridentity,acompanywheretheliabilityofmembersorshareholdersforthedebts(ifany)ofthecompanyarenotlimited.Inthiscasedoctrineofaveilofincorporationdoesnotapply. Lesscommontypesofcompaniesare: Companiesformedbyletterspatent.Mostcorporationsbyletterspatentarecorporationssoleandnotcompaniesasthetermiscommonlyunderstoodtoday. Chartercorporations.Beforethepassingofmoderncompanieslegislation,theseweretheonlytypesofcompanies.[dubious–discuss]Nowtheyarerelativelyrare,exceptforveryoldcompaniesthatstillsurvive(ofwhichtherearestillmany,particularlymanyBritishbanks),ormodernsocietiesthatfulfillaquasi-regulatoryfunction(forexample,theBankofEnglandisacorporationformedbyamoderncharter). Statutorycompanies.Relativelyraretoday,certaincompanieshavebeenformedbyaprivatestatutepassedintherelevantjurisdiction. When"Ltd"isplacedafterthecompany'sname,itsignifiesalimitedcompany,and"PLC"(publiclimitedcompany)indicatesthatitssharesarewidelyheld.[12] Inthelegalcontext,theownersofacompanyarenormallyreferredtoasthe"members".Inacompanylimitedorunlimitedbyshares(formedorincorporatedwithasharecapital),thiswillbetheshareholders.Inacompanylimitedbyguarantee,thiswillbetheguarantors.Someoffshorejurisdictionshavecreatedspecialformsofoffshorecompanyinabidtoattractbusinessfortheirjurisdictions.Examplesinclude"segregatedportfoliocompanies"andrestrictedpurposecompanies. Thereare,however,many,manysub-categoriesoftypesofcompanythatcanbeformedinvariousjurisdictionsintheworld. Companiesarealsosometimesdistinguishedforlegalandregulatorypurposesbetweenpubliccompaniesandprivatecompanies.Publiccompaniesarecompanieswhosesharescanbepubliclytraded,often(althoughnotalways)onastockexchangewhichimposeslistingrequirements/ListingRulesastotheissuedshares,thetradingofsharesandfutureissueofsharestohelpbolsterthereputationoftheexchangeorparticularmarketofanexchange.Privatecompaniesdonothavepubliclytradedshares,andoftencontainrestrictionsontransfersofshares.Insomejurisdictions,privatecompanieshavemaximumnumbersofshareholders. Aparentcompanyisacompanythatownsenoughvotingstockinanotherfirmtocontrolmanagementandoperationsbyinfluencingorelectingitsboardofdirectors;thesecondcompanybeingdeemedasubsidiaryoftheparentcompany.Thedefinitionofaparentcompanydiffersbyjurisdiction,withthedefinitionnormallybeingdefinedbywayoflawsdealingwithcompaniesinthatjurisdiction. Seealso[edit]  Businessandeconomicsportal  Companiesportal Corporatepersonhood Listofcompanyregisters Listoflargestemployers Listsofcompanies Stewardship Typesofbusinessentity References[edit] ^ Compareadefinitionofacorporation:"PerhapsthebestdefinitionofacorporationwasgivenbyChiefJusticeJohnMarshallinafamousSupremeCourtdecisionin1819.Acorporation,hesaid,'isanartificialperson,invisible,intangible,andexistingonlyincontemplationofthelaw.'Inotherwords,acorporation[...]isanartificialperson,createdbylaw,withmostofthelegalrightsofarealperson." Pride,WilliamM.;Hughes,RobertJ.;Kapoor,JackR.(1985)."4:Choosingaformofbusinessownership".Business.CengageNOWSeries(10 ed.).Mason,Ohio:CengageLearning(published2009).p. 116.ISBN 9780324829556.RetrievedApril20,2019. ^12thcentury:Harper,Douglas."company".OnlineEtymologyDictionary. ^ Compare: Harper,Douglas."company".OnlineEtymologyDictionary.-'[...]thewordhavingbeenusedinreferencetotradeguildsfromlate14c.' ^ Compare: Harper,Douglas."company".OnlineEtymologyDictionary.-'Fromlate14c.as"anumberofpersonsunitedtoperformorcarryoutanythingjointly,"whichdevelopedacommercialsenseof"businessassociation"by1550s,thewordhavingbeenusedinreferencetotradeguildsfromlate14c.' ^ Compare: "co".OxfordEnglishDictionary(Online ed.).OxfordUniversityPress. (Subscriptionorparticipatinginstitutionmembershiprequired.)-"1759Compl.Let.-writer(ed.6)London:PrintedforStanleyCrowder,andCo." ^ Compare: Harper,Douglas."co".OnlineEtymologyDictionary.-'by1670'sasanabbreviationofcompanyinthebusinesssense,indicatingthepartnersinthefirmwhosenamesdonotappearinitsname.Henceandco.toindicate"therest"ofanygroup(1757)'. ^Participation,Expert."CompaniesAct2006".www.legislation.gov.uk.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonApril10,2015.RetrievedMarch15,2020. ^Garner,BryanA.,ed.(1891)."company".Black'sLawDictionary.Black'sLaw,9thEdition.1(9 ed.).St.Paul,Minnesota:WestPublishing,Inc(published2009).p. 318.ISBN 9780314199492.RetrievedApril20,2019.2.Acorporation,partnership,association,joint-stockcompany,trust,fund,ororganizedgroupofpersons,whetherincorporatedornot,and(inanofficialcapacity)anyreceiver,trusteeinbankruptcy,orsimilarofficial,orliquidatingagent,foranyoftheforegoing.InvestmentCompanyAct2(a)(8)(15USCA80a-2(a)(8)). ^abcBlack'sLawandleeDictionary.SecondPocketEdition.BryanA.Garner,editor.West.2001. ^CompaniesAct2006 ^root."LimitedLiabilityCompany(LLC)Definition-Investopedia".Investopedia.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonNovember27,2012.RetrievedNovember14,2012. ^"BBCBitesize-GCSEBusiness-Formsofbusinessownership-Revision3".BBCBitesize.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonSeptember1,2018.RetrievedAugust31,2018. Furtherreading[edit] Wikiquotehasquotationsrelatedto:Companies WikimediaCommonshasmediarelatedtoCompanies. AlanDignamandJohnLowry.CompanyLaw.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2020.ISBN 978-0-19-928936-3. JohnMicklethwaitandAdrianWooldridge,TheCompany:aShortHistoryofaRevolutionaryIdea.NewYork:ModernLibrary,2003. "Company" .EncyclopædiaBritannica.6(11th ed.).1911.pp. 795–803. AuthoritycontrolGeneral IntegratedAuthorityFile(Germany) Nationallibraries Japan Externallinks[edit] LookupCompanyinWiktionary,thefreedictionary. "LaborandEmployment".GovernmentInformationLibrary.UniversityofColoradoatBoulder.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJune12,2009.RetrievedAugust5,2009. Gov.UK"GetInformationAboutaCompany". 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