company
Let an agent handle companies by legal form, registration, ownership, officers, filings and status, using official registries and giving no legal or investment advice.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent handle companies by legal form, registration, ownership, officers, filings and status, using official registries and giving no legal or investment advice.
A legal entity formed by people to carry on a business or other enterprise, such as a private or public limited company, cooperative or partnership, with its own legal personality in many systems.
What it is for: Organising business activity and limiting liability.
It can be look up a company in an official registry; identify legal form and officers; check filings and status; find information on starting a company.
Distinguishing features
Separate legal person
Registered with authorities
Owned by shareholders or members
Must file accounts in many countries
What it looks like
Not physical; offices, brands and registry records.
How it is recognised
Suffixes such as Ltd, plc, GmbH, SA, LLC
Registry numbers
Company as companionship or a military unit are other senses
Related models
is a kind of - category
is registered in - registry
is owned by - owners
is identified by - identifiers
In practice
Families and kinds
private limited companies
public limited companies
cooperatives
partnerships
non-profit companies
Identifiers
LEI 20 characters global legal entity identifier
company registration number national format registry
Standards and regulation
National company law
EU company law directives
Beneficial ownership registers
Failure modes and hazards
Impersonation of companies in scams
Outdated registry data
Agents giving legal or investment advice
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.company-4
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Identity Which company.
Registries identify companies.
Registry
Official record.
Registry
Registry record.
- What is the company registration number and registered office, from the official registry? provenance
- Is it active, dormant or dissolved? provenance
Form
Legal form.
Form
Legal form.
- What legal form does it have? definition
- What does that imply for liability, in general terms? definition
People Officers and owners.
Records show control.
Officers
Directors.
Officers
Officers.
- Who are the directors, according to the registry? provenance
- When were they appointed? provenance
Owners
Beneficial ownership.
Owners
Beneficial owners.
- Who are the persons with significant control, according to the register? provenance
- Is the register public here? provenance
Filings Accounts.
Filings are public in many places.
Accounts
Financial statements.
Accounts
Accounts.
- What do the latest filed accounts show? provenance
- Are filings overdue? provenance
Advice
No investment advice.
Advice
Advice limit.
- Is the user asking whether to invest in or contract with the company? boundary
- How should they be referred to a professional? action
Safety Scams.
Scammers impersonate companies.
Impersonation
Clone firms.
Impersonation
Impersonation.
- Could this be a clone or fake company? boundary
- How can details be checked against the official registry? action
Senses
Disambiguation.
Senses
Other senses.
- Is company as companionship or a military or theatre company meant? boundary
- Which entry fits? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should legal forms be separate entries?
- How should registries be linked?
- How should other senses be split off?