Legal Question in Business Law in California

Requesting your employer's corporations financials

I'm an employee of an ''inc.'' company and would like to know if I can legally request the companies ''books'' or finances and what they should include? do they legally have to make this available?

myself and a few others are questioning the use of company credit cards and other uses of company funds by the 2 partners as illegal activities and the financials would reflect numbers to substantiate it. thanks for any help you may be able to offer.


Asked on 10/17/03, 3:39 pm

5 Answers from Attorneys

Michael Olden Law Offices of Michael A. Olden

Re: Requesting your employer's corporations financials

Let's make his real easy. No long answers about partnerships and corporations and employees writes to look at books. You sound like one of a number of disgruntled employees in the company. If they are so bad yet another job. If you don't have an interest in the Company other than being an employee do not questioned what your employers do as long as you do your job and get paid in a timely manner, let them lead their own lives!!!!

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Answered on 10/18/03, 7:27 pm
Sheldon G. Bardach Law Offices of Sheldon G. Bardach

Re: Requesting your employer's corporations financials

Not as an employee, unless they are a publicly held company, in which case their financials have to be published each quarter, and are available to anyone who might be interested.

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Answered on 10/17/03, 3:41 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: Requesting your employer's corporations financials

First, corporations don't have partners; they have shareholders, directors and officers. Is this a corporation or a partnership?

Corporations do not automatically have to make their books and records available to the public. Public reporting follows as a consequence of the corporation becoming subject to the reporting rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and/or the California Dept. of Corporations. This usually results from public issuance of shares, but a corporation can also become subject to reporting rules for other reasons.

In addition, any shareholder may inspect the bylaws and financial records, and shareholders holding at least 5% can inspect the shareholder register, whether or not the corporation is required to make public reports.

In some cases, partnerships may be required to make financial reports available to the public, but this is unusual.

If certain officers, directors or other insiders of a corporation are misappropriating corporate funds, two avenues of reddress would normally be at the top of the list: (1) If the activity is criminal (embezzlement, for example), it might be investigated by the district attorney or attorney general for possible prosecution. (2) If the suspected activity is detrimental to the corporation, any shareholder or shareholder group can bring a so-called shareholder derivative action (a type of civil lawsuit) to obtain damages and other relief for the corporation.

Ordinarily, employees as such do not have the requisite legal standing to ask for corporate records or to initiate derivative suits. However, employees can certainly make reports to the DA or perhaps the IRS about suspect conduct by corporate officials.

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Answered on 10/17/03, 4:06 pm
Siamak Pishvaee Pishvaee & Bavar

Re: Requesting your employer's corporations financials

No. Unless you sue and get records through court process.

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Answered on 10/19/03, 3:29 am
Donald Holben Donald R. Holben & Associates, APC

Re: Requesting your employer's corporations financials

Why is this business of yours? As long as you are paid as agreed and benefits provided it appears you have no claim. If not like your job, get new one.

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Answered on 10/20/03, 4:54 pm


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