Business

Cooperative

a farm, business, or other organization that is owned and run jointly by its members, who share the profits or benefits.

Shares

one of the equal parts into which a company's capital is divided, entitling the holder to a proportion of the profits.

Officers

A management-level employee of a corporation entrusted with discretion in the exercise of some portion of corporate powers.

Quasi-public Corporation

A type of corporation in the private sector that is backed by a branch of government that has a public mandate to provide a given service. Most quasi-public corporations began as government agencies, but have since become separate entities.

Capital Stock

Capital stock is the combination of a corporation's common stock and preferred stock

Joint Venture

a commercial enterprise undertaken jointly by two or more parties that otherwise retain their distinct identities.

Corporation

a company or group of people authorized to act as a single entity (legally a person) and recognized as such in law.

Prospectus

a printed document that advertises or describes a school, commercial enterprise, forthcoming book, etc., in order to attract or inform clients, members, buyers, or investors.

Dividends

a sum of money paid regularly (typically quarterly) by a company to its shareholders out of its profits (or reserves).

Charter

a written grant by a country's legislative or sovereign power, by which an institution such as a company, college, or city is created and its rights and privileges defined.

Board of Directors

group of individuals that are elected as, or elected to act as, representatives of the stockholders to establish corporate management related policies and to make decisions on major company issues.

Close Corporation

is a corporation that is exempt from a number of the formal rules usually governing corporations, because of the small number of shareholders it has.

Open Corporation

is a corporation whose ownership shares are available for exchange on a public market.

Virtual Corporation

is a specific example of a networked organisation. Many smaller companies are now realizing the benefits of being part of a virtual corporation, which can give them the benefits of the resources of a large organisation while retaining the agility and independence of a small one.

Proxy

is an agent legally authorized to act on behalf of another party or a format that allows an investor to vote without being physically present at the meeting.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that combines the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a corporation.

Non-profit Corporation

s a corporation formed to carry out a charitable, educational, religious, literary, or scientific purpose. A nonprofit corporation doesn't pay federal or state income taxes on profits it makes from activities in which it engages to carry out its objectives.

Stockholders

shareholder, an owner of shares in a company.