Public companies have shares that can be publicly traded in the stock market. Private companies do not have stock that can be publicly traded. One of the advantages of a private company is that Private companies are not required to file their annual financial statements with the Registrar of Companies, and so their annual financial statements are not available to the public. The main reason to go public is to raise funds in a cost-efficient way to finance operating or growth objectives. If a private company goes public, it accesses an additional source of funds to the cash available from operations and borrowings. At the same time funding is diversified and extended to a much wider investor base. Public companies tend to be more visible than private companies and going public will often increase the public’s awareness of a company. A listing on stock exchanges and accompanying disclosures and media coverage can heighten the awareness of a company’s products and services among the business and financial community as well as consumers. Some disadvantages of public companies are loss of privacy and loss of control. Ernt & Young is a private company with a $29.6 billion dollar revenue. The company is owned by 6000 partners worldwide. Apple and Microsoft are is a publicly traded company.