A company, abbreviated as co., is a

legal entity In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, lawsuit, sue and be sued, ownership, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''le ...

representing an association of legal people, whether

natural Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared goals. Over time, companies have evolved to have the following features: "separate legal personality, limited liability, transferable shares, investor ownership, and a managerial hierarchy". The company, as an entity, was created by the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

which granted the privilege of incorporation. Companies take various forms, such as: *

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to a ...

s, which may include

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

s *

business entities In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''legal'' person" is t ...

, whose aim is to generate

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

, and

profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

* financial entities and

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s * programs or

educational institution An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments a ...

s A company can be created as a legal person so that the company itself has

limited liability Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial Legal liability, liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company, or joint venture. If a company that provides limi ...

as members perform or fail to discharge their duties according to the publicly declared incorporation published policy. When a company closes, it may need to be

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

to avoid further legal obligations. Companies may associate and collectively register themselves as new companies; the resulting entities are often known as

corporate group A corporate group, company group or business group, also formally known as a group of companies, is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. These types of gr ...

s, collections of parent and subsidiary

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

Meanings and definitions

A company can be defined as an "artificial person", invisible, intangible, created by or under law, with a discrete

legal capacity Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person (in this sen ...

(or "personality"),

perpetual succession In company law, perpetual succession is the continuation of a corporation's or other organization's existence despite the death, bankruptcy, insanity, change in membership or an exit from the car of any owner or member, or any transfer of stock, e ...

, and a Company seal, common seal. Except for some senior positions, companies remain unaffected by the death, insanity, or insolvency of an individual member.

Etymology

The English word, "''company''", has its origins in the Old French term (first recorded in 1150), meaning "society, friendship, intimacy; body of soldiers", which came from the Late Latin word ("one who eats bread with you"), first attested in the Salic law ( AD 500) as a calque of the Germanic languages, Germanic expression (literally, "with bread"), related to Old High German ("companion") and to Gothic language, Gothic ("messmate").

Semantics and usage

By 1303, the word company referred to Guild, trade guilds. The usage of the term ''company'' to mean "business association" was first recorded in 1553, and the abbreviation "co." dates from 1769.

Companies around the world

China

According to the Company Law of the People's Republic of China, companies include limited liability companies and joint-stock limited companies which were founded in Mainland China, mainland China.

United Kingdom

In English law and in legal jurisdictions based upon it, a company is a body corporate or corporation company registered under the United Kingdom company law, Companies Acts or under similar legislation. Common forms include: * Private company limited by guarantee, Private companies limited by guarantee * Community interest company * Charitable incorporated organisation * Private company limited by shares, Private companies limited by shares - the most common form of company * Public limited company, Public limited companies - companies, usually large, which are permitted to (but do not have to) offer their shares to the public, for example on a stock exchange In the United Kingdom, a partnership is not legally a company, but may sometimes be referred to (informally) as a "company". It may be referred to as a Business, "firm".

United States

In the United States, a company is not necessarily a corporation. For example, a company may be a "

, partnership, association, joint-stock company, Investment trust, trust, Mutual fund, fund, or organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not, and (in an official capacity) any receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or similar official, or liquidating Law of agency, agent, for any of the foregoing".Black's Law Dictionary. Second Pocket Edition. Bryan A. Garner, editor. West. 2001.

Types

* A Private company limited by guarantee, company limited by guarantee (CLG): Commonly used where companies are formed for non-commercial purposes, such as clubs or charities. The members guarantee the payment of certain (usually nominal) amounts if the company goes into liquidation, insolvent liquidation, but otherwise, they have no economic rights in relation to the company. This type of company is common in England. A company limited by guarantee may be with or without having share capital. * A Private company limited by shares, company limited by shares: The most common form of the company used for business ventures. Specifically, a limited company is a "company in which the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount individually invested" with corporations being "the most common example of a limited company". This type of company is common in England and many English-speaking world, English-speaking countries. A company limited by shares may be a public company, publicly traded company or a privately held company. * A company limited by guarantee with a share capital: A hybrid entity, usually used where the company is formed for non-commercial purposes, but the activities of the company are partly funded by investors who expect a return. This type of company may no longer be formed in the UK, although provisions still exist in law for them to exist. * A limited liability company: "A company—statutorily authorized in certain states—that is characterized by limited liability, management by members or managers, and limitations on ownership transfer", i.e., L.L.C. LLC structure has been called "hybrid" in that it "combines the characteristics of a corporation and of a partnership or sole proprietorship". Like a corporation, it has limited liability for members of the company, and like a partnership it has "flow-through taxation to the members" and depending on local laws may have to be "dissolved upon the death or bankruptcy of a member". * An unlimited company with or without a share capital: A hybrid entity, a company where the liability of members or shareholders for the debts (if any) of the company are not limited. In this case, the doctrine of a veil of incorporation does not apply. Less common types of companies are: * Companies formed by letters patent: Most corporations by letters patent are corporation sole, corporations sole and not companies as the term is commonly understood today. * Royal charter, Royal charter corporations: In middle-ages Europe, before the passing of modern companies legislation, these were the only types of companies. Now they are relatively rare, except for very old companies that still survive (particularly many British banks), or modern societies that fulfill a quasi-regulatory function (for example, the Bank of England is a corporation formed by a modern charter). * Statutory companies: Relatively rare today, certain companies have been formed by a private statute passed in the relevant jurisdiction. When "Ltd" is placed after the company's name, it signifies a limited company, and "PLC" (public limited company) indicates that its shares are widely held.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Legal entities Companies, Corporations