An Annual General Meeting (AGM) is a mandatory meeting for all companies. The requirement is for companies to hold an AGM within 6 months from the end of their financial year. At the AGM, the directors of the company will present an annual report of the company, typically the financial statements, to the shareholders. This [...]
A shareholder is a natural person or a legal entity (i.e. another company) that owns at least one share of a company. They may also be referred to as stockholders or equity holders. Some people may refer to them as owners of the company. A company requires investment in the form of an injection of [...]
An Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) is a form of Employee Share Ownership. An Employee Stock Option Plan gives employees the right to purchase shares of the company at a predetermined price within a particular time frame. There are a variety of reasons for implementing an ESOP in a company. An ESOP may be used [...]
A sole proprietorship is a business that is owned by an individual. There are no other individuals involved in this business. The three characteristics that define a sole proprietorship are: 1) It is not a separate legal entity from the business owner When dealing with a sole proprietorship, it is akin to dealing with the [...]
A convertible note is a form of loan to the company which can be paid back in the form of equity. The investor or lender places monies in a company and receives discounted shares which are issued at a later date. This is a very popular instrument in which startups use to raise funds. The [...]
A shareholder agreement is a document signed between shareholders of a company that supplements and complements the constitution of a company. A shareholder agreement may or may not be between all of the shareholders. It can be signed among some of the shareholders. It may also be signed between the shareholders and the company. One [...]
For many companies, the path to expansion requires financial backing. This can be in the form of seed funding and series A, B or C funding. Monies are collected from investors in exchange for equity in a company. Seed funding is the earliest stage of funding collected. It is at times considered as funding even [...]
A quorum is the number of members in a company that must be present in a meeting in order to transact any business. A meeting cannot be convened or start any business without having a quorum or the minimum number of voting members present. Any business that is transacted where a quorum is not present [...]
A share certificate is proof of ownership of a company's shares. The persons holding the share certificates are the shareholders of the company. Shareholders are commonly referred to as owners. The preparation and issuance of a share certificate are usually done by the company secretary. The share certificate must be issued in accordance with the [...]
There are two types of shareholders resolutions. Ordinary Resolution Special Resolution A Special Resolution is a resolution whereby the votes cast in favour of the resolution is at least three times higher than the votes cast against it. Therefore, 75 per cent of the votes is required to be cast to pass a special resolution. If [...]