Indiana Business Law Blog
This is the final installment in a series of articles dealing with Indiana’s new benefit corporation statute in general and its applicability to small businesses in particular, and we now arrive at the ultimate question: Is it a good idea for a small businesses to incorporate as (or to convert to) a benefit corporation?
In our opinion, the best choice of entity for most small businesses is a limited liability company, not a corporation, and the new benefit corporation statute does not change that opinion. Although we think the benefit corporation statute is an excellent addition to Indiana corporate and business law, we believe the Indiana LLC statute already has enough flexibility to permit LLCs to adopt the same governing principles, policies, and procedures that are pre-packaged in the benefit corporation statute without giving up the other advantages that LLCs have over corporations in general.
First, the Indiana Business Flexibility Act allows LLCs to be organized for “any business, personal, or nonprofit purpose,” which certainly seems broad enough to include the combination of business and public benefit purposes for which benefit corporations are created. Second, all of the governance, transparency, and accountability provisions of the benefit corporation statute can be incorporated into a limited liability company’s operating agreement. Finally, certification as a B-Corp is not restricted to benefit corporations – essentially any form of business entity is eligible to be certified as a B-Corp, including LLCs.
Here are the links to the other articles in this series:
Benefit Corporations and Small Businesses — Part I
Benefit Corporations and Small Businesses — Part II
Benefit Corporations and Small Businesses — Part III
Benefit Corporations and Small Businesses — Part IV