Business law: Business entities; management of companies in England and Estonia

set up/incorporate a business

to start a business (äriühingut, äri alustama)

provide services

to offer something useful to customers (teenuseid pakkuma)

business entity, business association

exists independently of its owner's personal holdings (äriline ühendus)

the Commercial Code (Est)

Äriseadustik

the Commercial Register (Est), the Companies House (Eng)

database which lists all companies which are licensed to operate in a region (Äriregister)

tax liabilities

money owed to the government for taxes (maksukohustused)

termination of a company

end the business activities of a business entity (firma lõpetamine)

legal person

human being or entity, such as a corporation or government, that is recognized as a possessor of certain legal rights (juriidiline isik)

natural person

individual; a private person, as distinguished from an artificial entity such as a corporation or partnership (füüsiline isik)

limited (liability) company, LLC (US: corporation)

business association having the character of a legal person, separate from its members (piiratud vastutusega ühing)

private limited company (Ltd)

small to medium sized company, owned by shareholders who have limited liability, no minimum share capital requirement (osaühing, OÜ)

limited company (Eng) = corporation (US)

registered company (Eng)

company

a) limited company in England; b) a general name for a business entity in Estonia and the EU or the US (piiratud vastutusega äriühing, Eng; äriühing)

memorandum of association

the foundation agreement (asutamisleping)

articles of association

rules of internal management (põhikiri)

public limited company (PLC)

company that has a minimum share capital requirement; other requirements ,ay vary from country to country; may be listed on the stock exchange (aktsiaselts; AS)

stock exchange, stock market

a market where shares of public companies are llsted and traded (aktsiaturg, aktsiabörs)

annual report

a yearly statement of the financial condition, progress, and expectations of an organization (aastaaruanne)

income tax

tax on earnings (tulumaks)

sole proprietor

business owned and controlled by one person (füüsilisest isikust ettevõtja, FIE)

general partnership

business association where at least two partners share the responsibilities (täisühing)

Tax and Customs Board (US: the Internal Revenue Service; UK: HM Revenue and Customs, formerly and also in some other countries: Inland Revenue)

Maksu- ja Tolliamet

limited partnership

a company in which two or more persons operate under a common business name, and at least one of the persons (general partner) is liable for the obligations of the limited partnership with all of the general partner's assets (usaldusühing)

ultra vires activity

activity outside the scope of the articles of incorporation

board of directors (Eng)

a group of persons elected by the shareholders to manage a corporation (juhatus)

chairman/chairperson of the board

person who presides over board meetings (juhatuse esimees)

annual general meeting

a meeting of shareholders (iga-aastane üldkoosolek)

extraordinary meeting

non-routine meeting called for a specific purpose (erakorraline koosolek)

remuneration

payment for work done (töötasu)

managing director, chief executive officer (CEO)

person who is at the head of a company and who carries managerial responsibility (tegevdirektor)

pass resolutions

make formal decisions (otsuseid vastu võtma)

to vote in favour of sth/vote for sth or against sth

millegi poolt või vastu hääletama

insider trading

illegal practice of using special knowledge about a firm for profit or gain (ebaseaduslik siseinfo kasutamine)

take the minutes of a meeting

make notes of what was said and decided in a meeting (koosolekut protokollima)

share (often used interchangeably with 'stock')

any of the equal interests or rights into which the entire stock of a corporation is divided

majority shareholder

a shareholder with a controlling interest in a company (enamusaktsionär)

minority shareholder

shareholder who holds usually less than half the total shares outstanding (vähemusaktsionär)

dividend

portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders

turnover

cycle of purchase, sale, and replacement of a stock of goods (käive)

profit

total revenue minus total cost (kasum)

loss

when a business incurs expenses that are greater than its revenue (kahjum)

convene a meeting

to bring together a group of people for a meeting (koosolekut kokku kutsuma)

general meeting of shareholders

a formal meeting of shareholders at which they are able to vote on matters concerning the corporation (aktsionäride üldkoosolek)

management board (Est)

represntative and executive body of a company (osaühingu/aktsiaseltsi juhatus)

supervisory board

group of directors who represent a company's shareholders (nõukogu)

dissolve

to terminate the activities of a company (lõpetama)

compulsory dissolution

termination of a company by a court ruling (sundlõpetamine)

liquidation

likvideerimine

liquidator

likvideerija

bankruptcy

the legal proceeding by which a bankrupt person's assets are distributed among those to whom he or she owes debts (pankrot)

bankruptcy petition

document filed by the debtor or by creditors which begins the bankruptcy case (pankrotiavaldus)

bankrupt

unable to pay debts (pankrotis)

insolvency

financial state that occurs if liabilities are greater than assets (maksujõuetus)

abatement

the ending, reduction, or lessening of something (raugemine)

declaration of bankruptcy

formal statement that a company is bankrupt (pankroti väljakuulutamine)

bankruptcy trustee

a person appointed by the court to manage the debtor's funds (pankrotihaldur)

debtor

person or institution that owes a sum of money (võlgnik)

bankruptcy estate

assets that are collected from a debtor who files for bankruptcy (pankrotivara)

bankruptcy notice

pankrotiteade

creditor

person or business to whom a liability is owed (võlausaldaja)

subsidiary

company that is completely controlled by another company (tütarettevõte)

parent company

company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations (emaettevõte)

group

a number of separate commercial or industrial firms that all have the same owner (kontsern)

due diligence

the care that a reasonable person exercises to avoid harm to other persons or their property; research and analysis of a company or organization done in preparation for a business transaction (such as a corporate merger or purchase of securities) (hoolsus)