The Chief Financial Officer, sometimes known as the treasurer, handles the financial aspects of the corporation or LLC. In larger businesses, the CFO becomes an advisor to the CEO, conferring on best approaches for increasing business or investment. In a very small business, the CEO and CFO are frequently the same person, and there’s nothing […]
Corporate secretaries are the unsung heroes in the officer world. They are responsible for the grunt work of the corporation or LLC, making sure i’s are dotted, t’s crossed, taking corporate minutes, and frequently interacting with the business’s lawyer to make sure paperwork and corporate housekeeping are all in order. In a very small business, […]
It depends. A vice president in your corporation (or LLC) is tasked with acting on behalf of the CEO or President of the entity. This could come in handy if you, presumably being the CEO, aren’t available to sign a particular emergent contract. In your absence, the VP would act on your behalf with all […]
Strictly speaking, every California corporation is required to have a CEO. So the real question is whether your corporation should also have a President. The President of a corporation is typically tasked with general supervision, direction and control of the business and officers of the corporation. Practically, though, where there’s already a CEO, the President might be […]
Nope. There are some pretty strict rules on what you get to name your corporation. Most of those rules can be found in a document regularly updated by the Secretary of State (in California) — click here to take a look. For example, in California, a corporation need not have “Inc.” at the end of […]
It depends. Typically there’s the name you used to form your entity, and then there’s the name you do business as, which may be two different things, and both require paperwork. In the case of the name you do business as, that may be expose you to trademark or service mark infringement.
California, and many other states, require an annual or biannual report filing detailing the names and addresses of the directors and officers (or managers in the case of an LLC). It’s part of the social contract entities have with the public – liability protection in return for transparency. Not filing an SOI can eventually lead […]
Yes. It’s not always ideal, especially if you’re looking at growing or bringing in investors, but the law allows it. And please stop calling it “my corporation”. The more you do that, the more you expose yourself to personal liability. Think of it as separate and apart from you, and the rest of the world […]
Not necessarily. In California, the default rule is one director per shareholder, and if there are more than 3 shareholders, then 3 minimum. You can always have more directors than is required by law.
In terms of capital (i.e., cash money), it depends on your business; one common rule of thumb is 3 months’ worth of cash to run the business. If you mean compliance, you’ll need annual minutes and, in California, an annual filing with the Secretary of State. You’ll also need to memorialize extraordinary transactions, like leases […]