1.1 The Corporate Firm

A company is a corporate entity established and registered in accordance with the Company Law for the purpose of profit.Due to the different requirements of company laws in different countries for establishing a company，the legal concept of a company also varies.The corporate form of business is the standard method for solving the problems encountered in raising large amounts of cash.However，businesses can take other forms，like the following：

●The Sole Proprietorship（个人独资企业），which is a business owned and run by an individual.It is the easiest business type to start and operate.

●The Partnership（合伙制企业），which is an unincorporated business entity formed by two or more people，including the General Partnership and the Limited Partnership.The owners of a partnership are called partners who put their joined efforts and resources to start the business.

●The Corporation（公司），which is a business owned by shareholder（s）.A board of directors is selected to oversee the organization's activities.

Table 1-1 shows the comparison of business forms.

Table 1-1 A Comparison of Business Forms