The separation in law between directors and shareholders can cause confusion in private companies. If two or three people set up a company together they often see themselves as 'partners' in the business. That relationship is often represented in a company by them all being both directors and shareholders. The problem with this is that company law requires some decisions to be made by the directors in board meetings and others to be made by the shareholders in general meetings. To complicate matters further, some decisions have to be made by the directors, but only with the shareholders' consent.