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Business Organization Forms
Alyssa Wiseman
Western Governors University

Overview
The decision to change from one form of business organization to another can be quite a daunting task. With multiple factors to take into consideration, it should not be a decision that is taken lightly. I have been hired to facilitate this process by outlining six different forms of business organizations, the key characteristics that differentiate one form from another, such as liability, income taxes, control, continuity of the organization, profit, expansion, and compliance, and their advantages and disadvantages. Below you will find a detailed report on such findings, as well as a memorandum outlining my recommendations on changing business forms.

Sole Proprietorship The majority of business forms in our country fall into this category. Sole proprietorships make up almost three quarters of all American businesses and most are one-person entities (Stevick, 2006). Since sole proprietorships are generally run by a single person, all of the business’s responsibilities, decisions, and capital fall back on the sole owner. While it is known that sole proprietorships are fairly small, the primary distinctive feature is the unlimited and unshared responsibility of the sole owner (Stevick, 2006).
Liability. One drawback to sole proprietorship is that, along with sole responsibility and sole decision making, liability falls solely on the owner. “Financial liability is unlimited and unshared” (Stevick, 2006). Essentially, if the business is failing, the sole owner is at risk of losing personal assets, since there is no differentiation between personal or business assets in a sole proprietorship.
Income taxes. Taxes in regards to sole proprietorships are fairly simply. Sole proprietors must file Form 1040 and Schedule C (Stevick, 2006). The sole proprietor files

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