(a) to reaffirm the value of the company as a means of achieving economic and social benefits through the aggregation of capital for productive purposes, the spreading of economic risk, and the taking of business risks; and (b) to provide basic and adaptable requirements for the incorporation, organisation, and operation of companies; and (c) to define the relationships between companies and their directors, shareholders, and creditors; and (d) to encourage efficient and responsible management of companies by allowing directors a wide discretion in matters of business judgment while at the same time providing protection for shareholders and creditors against the abuse of management power; and The Companies Act is an Act of Parliament passed in New Zealand in 1993.

The Act regulates companies, and replaces the earlier Companies Act of 1955.