Incorporation and Corporate Representation

This chapter presents a general discussion of incorporation and corporate representation. General incorporation requires a formal process that company promoters have to go through, at the end of which the company or corporation emerges as a separate legal entity. Since investors will have access only to the corporate property, a certain degree of publicity is required in order to facilitate a clear attribution of assets and liabilities to a specific corporate entity. Disclosure is therefore an important element of the incorporation process, and remains significant throughout the duration of the company. Once incorporated, the company or corporation conducts its business by contracting and transacting with other market participants. This requires the attribution of the acts of natural persons to the corporation, causing the corporate property to be subject to, or released from, liability, or to be increased or decreased by the receipt or disposal of assets.