Corporations are a very common type of business entity because there are many advantages to the corporate form. A Corporation can be treated as separate from its owner and the Corporation has its own legal rights and obligations. Owners of Corporations can benefit from liability protection and may have more flexibility when it comes to taxation of the business and income.
Because of the many benefits associated with incorporating, a Corporation is the right type of entity for many different businesses. This is true even when a business has just one owner and one person in a position of authority. However, while a Corporation can have only one owner and still be considered a valid business entity, it is essential that you have all of the customarily required corporate officers. An experienced Scottsdale Arizona corporate lawyer can provide assistance with getting your organization incorporated and with maintaining the corporate form.
How Many Corporate Officers Are Required?
Within a Corporation, there generally must be a President; a Treasurer or Chief Financial Officer; and a Secretary. There may be additional officers as well who play a leadership role in the business. The job of the President is, of course, to run the organization and make decisions. The Chief Financial Officer or Treasurer will handle the money and accounting aspects of the corporation and the Secretary will be responsible for recording important information like the minutes of meetings.
When a business incorporates, it must actually operate as a Corporation in order to be considered a separate legal entity and to give the owner’s protection from liability. You cannot just file the incorporation papers and then run your business as normal. You must maintain corporate formalities and part of that means that you have the standard corporate officers that any other business will have. As a result, you typically will need to have at least the three basic officers.
However, a Corporation can have only one owner and can have only one person in the leadership role. That owner or individual can simply fill all of the different corporate officers positions. For example, if a business man decides he wants to start a company and he will be the sole owner in total control, then the company still needs multiple corporate officers. The business man can name himself as the President, the Treasurer and the Secretary. He will fill all the roles, but all of the roles will still exist.
If a Corporation fails to maintain corporate formalities, including having corporate officers that are elected each year, questions can be raised about whether it was legitimately operating as a corporation. This could lead to the organization losing tax benefits and it could also lead to the piercing of the Corporate Veil, making owners personally liable for losses.
An experienced Scottsdale Arizona lawyer can help you to understand the rules for corporate officers as well as all other requirements that are associated with incorporating a business. Call today to schedule a consultation with Lotzar Law Firm and learn more about how a lawyer can help with your organization.
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