Mechanisms Provided by The Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000 - Term Paper Example

? Reflective Report on Business Law By Presented to Reflective Report on Business Law Introduction This business law assignment required that, in a group of 3 or more, we carry out a research on a topic in business law and prepare a PowerPoint presentation that we would later present. We had a maximum of 4 weeks to do the research and prepare the presentation. Initially, we were 4 members in our group, but in week 2, one group member pulled out leaving 3 of us to complete the assignment. This was a drawback to the progress of the presentation assignment since at the time he pulled out, we had already subdivided tasks. I was tasked with researching and preparing a presentation on the advantages and disadvantaged of Limited Liability Partnerships. Despite the initial hiccup, we were able to complete the assignment by week 3 and as such we had ample time to compile everything, rehearse, make corrections and managed to make a confident presentation in week 4. This reflective report briefly outlines the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000, and the Partnership Act 1890, that we discussed in our presentation and reflects on our experience with regards to the preparation of the assignment in a group. It looks at the challenges we encountered in the group, the strengths we had as a group and our experience during the oral presentation. Finally, it outlines the lessons learned from both working in a group/team and carrying out oral presentation. A brief outline of the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000 The Limited Liability Partnership Act, also known as the LLPA, is an act that provides for a framework under which limited liability partnerships are created. This act was developed in the United Kingdom as a result of corporate accounting firms’ pressure with regards to the need for the creation of a framework that combines both the benefits of limited liability and the flexibility of partnerships (Legislation.gov.uk n.d.). According to the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000, Limited Liability Partnerships are characterized by certain features including limited liability for partners/members; LLP’s are taxed as partnerships; they are separate legal entities; have organizational flexibility such as that enjoyed by partnerships; the filing and accounting requirements of LLP’s are similar to those of limited liability companies; any agreements between members are deemed as private and confidential, and LLP’s have the ability to develop floating charges. A limited Liability Partnership is not a partnership, and as such, the laws, rules and regulations that apply to partnerships do not apply to it, except in situations or circumstances provided for in the LLPA (Statham 2002). As such, it is right to define an LLP as an alternative business framework that combines the benefits enjoyed of limited liability and the flexibility of partnerships. According to LLPA 2000, limited liability is possible in LLP’s because an LLP is a legal entity entirely separate from its members and as a result, is liable for its own debts and owns the business assets. Partners or members act as the LLP’s agents, thus, have limited liability, at least up to their contribution-monetary-to the LLP. The Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000 provides for mechanisms in which the provisions of insolvency law and company law can be applied to LLP’s, at least with appropriate modifications. These mechanisms are used to put in place important safeguards for those willing to deal, or dealing with Limited Liability Partnerships. Such safeguards are expected to include provisions for public disclosure of LLPs information such as finance; and provisions with regards to what happens in the event that an LLP becomes insolvent (Legislation.gov.uk n.d.). A brief outline of the Partnership Act 1890 The Partnership Act 1890 defines a partnership as relation that exists between persons that are in a business to make profits. According to this act, the relationship between members of any association or company that has been registered under the Companies Act 1862 or any other Act of Parliament, incorporated or formed in pursuance of any Royal Charter, patents or Act of Parliament, is not a partnership (legislation.gov.uk n.d.). On the basis of the meaning depicted by the Partnership Act 1890, a partnership is deemed to exist if profits made form use of what is jointly owned, or what common or joint interests exists are shared. Additionally, receipt of a share of profits of a business by a person is par face value, evidence of existence of a partnership. However, receipt of advance loans, receipt by way of annuity or remuneration does not imply that such a person is a partner in a business. This act also stipulates that, every partner is an agent of other partners and the firm-the partnership, and as such his actions are binding to the partnership-the firm and all other partners for the purpose of the business. Additionally, partners in a partnership are bound by the actions of other persons-who are not necessarily partners-acting on behalf of the partnership or firm. In the event incurred credit not for the purpose of the partnership does not bind either the partnership/firm or other partners (Adams 2012). As opposed to Limited Liability Partnerships in which partners or members have limited liabilities, members of a firm-a traditional partnership, according to the Partnership Act 1890, are jointly liable to all the obligations and debts incurred by the firm-partnership, while he/she is a partner. In addition, all partners are also liable to the loss or injury caused on another person who is not a partner, by any partner in the course of business of the partnership/firm. Representations or admissions by partner with regards to the affairs of the partnership may be used as evidence against the partnership/firm. As far as liability in partnerships is concerned, the Partnership Act 1890 asserts that, any person admitted into an existing partnership is not liable to any debts or actions by the firm that occurred before he/she became partner (Kelly 2011). To the contrary, a person retiring from a partnership does not cease to be liable for the debts, actions and obligation incurred by the partnership before his/her retirement. However, through an agreement to discharge from liabilities between a retiring partner and the other partners, a retiring partner can cease to be liable for any existing liabilities-obligations, debts and/or actions. It is worth noting that, this agreement may be either inferred or express. The strengths and weaknesses of the group Strengths One important attribute-strength- that led to the success of this group is communication. The fact that different group members were tasked with handling different but related tasks of this assignment required that members be able to communicate and consult now and again. We all shared our emails, phone numbers and created a discussion group/forum online where we could easily share our ideas, ask questions, assess each other’s progress and suggest corrections where applicable. In addition, we also held face-to-face regular meetings in which we were able to brainstorm, discuss, share ideas, ask questions, assess group members’ progress, recommend additions, corrections and omissions, and offer feedback. This enabled us to easily and quickly complete individual tasks, compile them, rehearse, make corrections, and final-draft the assignment. Additionally, the group synergy was great since everyone in the group wanted to be in the group, despite one member leaving, and we were happy to work together. This ensured that there was no tension or conflicts which could have slowed down our progress. In addition, we all complemented each other, every member contributed something to the group and as such it was easy for us to solve problems and make decisions regarding what to do and when. Group synergy was especially essential during group meetings, the assignment compilation, corrections, assessments and the rehearsal stages. Another strength that led to the success of this assignment was the IT skills possessed by all of us. This made it easy for us to carry out online research with regards to this assignment. Consequently, it made it easy for us to prepare the presentation intuitively and creatively. This is evident in the way we rendered our presentation by mixing different colors and utilizing various animations, transitions, timings, and presentation design techniques. Weaknesses One major weakness that derailed our group work was poor time management. This is attributed to the fact that some of us go to work, have childcare issues and as such most of our face-to-face meetings failed to start on time. Additionally, most of our discussions took more time than we had scheduled. In addition to poor time management, another weakness of the group was carrying out proper referencing in Harvard since no of us had had experience with this referencing style before. As a result, it took us time to learn how to correctly use the referencing style, as such, eating into our scheduled time. Not knowing how to carry out academic writing well was also a shortcoming of our group. We also had a problem with carrying out the research, especially with regards to the type of sources to rely on. Strengths of the Presentation Our presentation depicts an in-depth understanding of the topic-Have LLP’s been taken up by many professional (unlimited) partnerships? Why is this so? The presentation is very well researched, prepared and communicated as it first offers a brief overview of the presentation and gradually address the questions articulately and intuitively. The presentation is confident as depicted by the colors used and is well communicated as depicted by the use of transitions, animations and design techniques. During presentation, we exuded confidence and communicated the research very well. Weakness of the Presentation Lack of proper presentation skills such as audibility, communication with the audience and eye contact characterize our presentation. We exuded anxiety and nervousness, and failed to be time conscious. In order to overcome the above weaknesses, it is important that more practice is put in and some research with regards to preparation of a presentation and actual oral presentation, specifically, communication with the audience. From this assignment, I have learnt that, teamwork is very important when it comes to achieving group or team goals. As far as oral presentation is concerned, I have learned that, it is important to exude confidence during presentation, especially ensuring eye contact with one’s audience. Additionally, I learnt that it is important to engage the audience during a presentation; it helps gradually boost one’s confidence. Conclusion Doing this assignment in a group/team was a very good experience and I learnt very important lessons. Despite the various challenges we encountered while working in a group, the greatest lesson I learnt in as far as teamwork/group work is concerned, is that, communication, proper time management, cohesion, leadership and cooperation are very important for a group to function well and complete a task at hand. Additionally doing the actual oral presentation was very challenging and valuable lessons were learned, as well. I gathered that, for a successful oral presentation, there is need to exude confidence and establish eye contact with the audience so as to enhance communication with them. Overall, the group assignment was a success and an important experience as far as I am concerned. Bibliography Adams, A., 2012. Law for business students . 7th ed., Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Kelly, D. et al., 2011. Business law 6th ed., Oxon: Routledge. Legislation.gov.uk, Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000. legislation.gov.uk. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/12/notes/division/5/1/1 [Accessed January 11, 2013]. legislation.gov.uk, Partnership Act 1890. legislation.gov.uk. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/53-54/39/contents [Accessed January 11, 2013]. Statham, D., 2002. Limited liability partnerships. Structural Survey, 20(5). Read More