The Companies Act 1993 regulates companies in New Zealand, from their incorporation through to their winding up. A company is different from other business structures, as it is a separate legal entity and has limited liability.
As a company director, it is important to understand your responsibilities under the Companies Act. These include:
- always acting in good faith;
- ensuring you exercise care and diligence;
- avoiding conflicts of interest; and
- not trading while insolvent.
If your company has shareholders, then you require legal documents to govern this relationship, such as a shareholders agreement.
A shareholders agreement outlines the relationship between your company and its shareholders. It outlines shareholder and directors’ rights and responsibilities, including:
- meeting requirements;
- share issue requirements;
- share sale requirements;
- share vesting;
- dispute resolution; and
- company sale.
LegalVision’s lawyers have extensive experience in assisting companies with meeting their corporate governance obligations. They have written a series of articles to help you implement and manage your ongoing responsibilities and risk.
