Every company needs an individual or an entity to underpin its existence, and such a person or entity is often regarded as the legal owner of the company.
Legal ownership in a company is vested in persons or entities who have subscribed to the memorandum and articles of association of the company and are described as members of the company. The legal owners of a company are usually listed on the company’s profile as the owners of the shares issued by the company.
Organisations like Open Government Partnership , Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative , Open Ownership, Financial Action Task Force , Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development , Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative , Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative have championed this cause and dedicated time and efforts to create guidelines and policies to assist nations.
When a company discloses its beneficial owners, such company demonstrates its commitment to transparency, informs the public of its principled operations, bolsters law enforcement endeavors, and effectively curtails secretive business practices.