A limited liability company, also known as a limited company, refers to an enterprise that is established with capital contribution from shareholders in compliance with legal provisions. The shareholders bear liability for the company to the extent of their capital contribution, and the company bears liability for the company's debts with all of its assets. legal person. The main similarities between a limited liability company and a joint stock company are:

(1) Shareholders have limited liability for the company. Whether in a limited liability company or a joint stock company, shareholders bear limited liability for the company, and the scope of "limited liability" is limited to the amount of investment in the shareholder company.

(2) The shareholders' property is separated from the company's property. After the shareholder invests the property in the company, the property becomes the company's property, and the shareholder no longer directly controls and controls this part of the property. At the same time, the company's property has nothing to do with other properties that shareholders have not invested in the company. Even if the company becomes insolvent, shareholders will only be liable for the amount of their investment in the company and will no longer bear other responsibilities.

(3) Limited liability companies and joint-stock companies bear external liabilities with all of the company’s assets. In other words, the company only assumes limited liability to the outside world. The scope of "limited liability" is all the company's assets. In addition, the company no longer assumes other property responsibilities.

The differences between a limited liability company and a joint stock company:

(1) The two companies are different in terms of establishment conditions and raising funds. The conditions for the establishment of a limited liability company are relatively loose, while the conditions for the establishment of a joint stock company are stricter; a limited liability company can only raise funds from its promoters and cannot raise funds from the public, while a joint stock company can raise funds from the public; There are maximum and minimum requirements for the number of shareholders. The number of shareholders of a joint stock company has only minimum requirements and no maximum requirements.

(2) The difficulty of transferring shares of the two companies is different. In a limited liability company, there are strict requirements for shareholders to transfer their capital contributions, and they are subject to more restrictions and are more difficult; in a joint stock company, shareholders are relatively free to transfer their own shares, which is not as difficult as in a limited liability company.

(3) The forms of equity certificates of the two companies are different. In a limited liability company, the shareholder's equity certificate is a capital contribution certificate, which cannot be transferred or circulated; in a joint stock company, the shareholder's equity certificate is a stock, that is, the shares held by the shareholder are reflected in the form of stocks. , stocks are certificates issued by the company to prove the shares held by shareholders. Stocks can be transferred and circulated.

(4) The two types of companies have different powers of the shareholders’ meeting and board of directors and the degree of separation of the two powers. In a limited liability company, since there is an upper limit on the number of shareholders, the number of shareholders is relatively small, and it is more convenient to hold shareholders' meetings. Therefore, the shareholders' meeting has greater authority. The directors are often concurrently held by the shareholders themselves. In terms of ownership and management rights, In terms of separation, the degree is lower; in a joint-stock company, because there is no upper limit on the number of shareholders, the number is large and scattered, it is difficult to convene a shareholders' meeting, and the procedures for the shareholders' meeting are also relatively complex, so the powers of the shareholders' meeting are limited, and the board of directors The authority is relatively large, and the degree of separation of ownership and management rights is also relatively high.

(5) The degree of disclosure of the financial status of the two companies is different. In a limited liability company, due to the limited number of people in the company, the financial accounting statements do not need to be audited by a certified public accountant or announced, as long as they are submitted to each shareholder within the prescribed time limit; in a joint stock company, due to the large number of shareholders, it is very difficult to It is difficult to classify, so the accounting statements must be audited by a certified public accountant and a report must be issued, and must be archived for shareholders to review. Among them, a joint-stock company established by way of raising funds must also announce its financial accounting report.