what is a soci t anonyme s a 
soci t anonyme s a is a french term for a public limited company plc and has many equivalents all over the world an s a is the equivalent of a corporation in the united states a public limited company in the united kingdom or an aktiengesellschaft ag in germany an s a is a type of business structure that establishes a company as a legal person that can own and transfer property enter contracts and be held liable for crimes some of its key benefits are that it limits the owners personal liability for the company s actions and ensures the continuity of the moral entity without any dependence on the founders owners or shareholders lives understanding the soci t anonymethe soci t anonyme is a popular business structure with equivalents in many other languages and countries in all cases a company designated s a protects its owners personal assets against claims by creditors which makes many individuals more willing to start companies as it limits their risk the s a structure also makes it easier to meet a growing business capital funding needs as numerous investors can contribute large or small amounts of money as shareholders if the company opts for public ownership the s a is thus a key component of a robust capitalist economy one of the soci t anonyme s key benefits is that it establishes the company as a legal person and thus limits the owners personal liability for the company s actions history of soci t anonyme s a on jan 1 1808 the french government put into effect the provisions regarding the formation and structure of a soci t anonyme as part of the country s new code regulating commerce one purpose of these new regulations was to prevent the rampant speculation that had rocked the french markets prior to and during the french revolution the code recognized three forms of business organization the soci t en nom collectif the soci t en commandite and the soci t anonyme a soci t en nom collectif is a standard partnership in which all partners have unlimited liability any partner could act for the others and all partners are actively engaged in the enterprise by comparison the soci t en commandite is comprised of limited partners also known as sleeping or silent partners and active partners the limited partners provide assets or capital to the enterprise and have limited liability while the active partners are responsible for all management activities and have unlimited liability requirements of a soci t anonyme s a an s a is subject to different tax regulations than a sole proprietorship or partnership and in the case of a public s a different accounting and auditing requirements in addition to be valid a soci t anonyme must meet certain requirements while these requirements vary depending on the country most s a s must file articles of incorporation have a board of directors a managing director or a management board a supervisory board a statutory auditor and deputy a unique name and some minimum amount of capital it is generally constituted for 99 years maximum in luxembourg for example an s a must be funded with at least 30 000 25 of which must be deposited during the incorporation process and have at least two partners an s a in luxembourg must also pay various costs such as notary fees the cost of registration with other regulatory agencies as well as statutory auditor fees 1 well known companies that are established as s a s include nestl 2 anheuser busch inbev 3 and l or al 4examples of a soci t anonyme s a many other countries and languages employ the soci t anonyme structure some examples 