Duties of Corporate People

Duties of Corporate People

Introduction

This research paper will discuss the respective duties of people critical to the corporate process: directors of corporations, officers of corporations and shareholders of corporations. Also, included within this paper will be the difference between a publicly held and a closed corporation. State laws require the corporation have at least a president, a secretary and a treasurer. The president is usually the chief operating officer (COO) of the corporation. The secretary is responsible for the corporate records. The treasurer is responsible for the corporate finances, although it's common to hand day-to-day duties to a bookkeeper.

The demands placed on today's CFO call for financial executives who combine their technical competency - amid increasing complexity - with broader experience and greater perspective” (Witzel M. pg. 26). “The CFO's role has grown from narrow financial management to broad involvement in organizational leadership” (Witzel M. pg. 26).

Discussion

Shareholders

Any individual who holds legal share(s) in a public or closed organization is called a shareholder. They do not own the corporation but have various powers within the organization like nominating and/or voting for directors. They may also sell or trade their shares without prior notification, expect payments, and buy new shares issued by the company.

Individuals like laborers, suppliers and customers as well as the community may be regarded as shareholders as they hold a vested interest in the corporation. Such individuals can be regarded as indirect shareholders. Shareholders are the individuals who have invested money or assets due to which they receive ownership in the business. Generally, annual shareholder meetings are held as required by the law to elect directors for the corporation.

The Board of Directors

Directors are appointed to act in the best interest of the shareholders and the corporation itself. Their administrative duty is to direct the affairs of the ...