What is Corporation?

 The word “corporation” derives from corpus, the Latin word for ‘body’ or a ‘body of people’.

 The oldest commercial corporation of the world is the Stora Kopparberg mining community in Falun, Sweden, obtained a charter from King Magnus Eriksson in 1347.

 A corporation is a business owned by many people but treated by law as one person.

 To form a corporation, you need to get a corporate charter from the state your headquarters is in.

 To raise money, you can sell stock, or shares of ownership in your corporation.

 For each share of common stock, the stockholder gets a share of the profits and a vote on how the business is run.

 You also must have a board of directors who control the corporation.

 A corporation is a legal form of business organization considered to be an entity separate and apart from its owners. In effect it is an artificial person created by law. Its birth certificate is the corporate charter.

 Corporate charter is a document issued by a government that contains all information stated in the original application for a charter plus the powers, rights, and privileges of the corporation as prescribed by law.

A corporation:

 Can sue or be sued
 Make contracts
 Own property
 Be a partner in a partnership
 Doesn’t cease to exist when its owners die