Listed Company

By definition; 1. Acceptance of a qualifying security for trading over a stock exchange. 2. Certification of an appliance, equipment, or supplies by an independent standards or testing organization (such as Underwriters' Laboratory, called listing agency) as complying with specific safety and/or other requirements. 3. Written contract between a property owner (the principal) and a real estate broker (the agent) authorizing him or her to perform specified services for the principal within a specified period. 4. Record of a property for lease or sale by an authorized real estate broker. 5. Alternative term for listed property.

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Firm whose shares are listed (quoted) on a stock exchange for public trading. Also called quoted company.
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Non-listed:
A publicly unlisted company is a company that can have an unlimited number of shareholders to raise capital for any commercial venture. Companies which are not listed publicly are more likely to engage in profit maximising behavior as their share capital structure makes it very easy to give its members financial [1] returns. Unlisted companies are usually too small to qualify for a stock exchange listing, and do not [2] [1] usually advertise for investors. However they tend to be larger than companies limited by guarantee. In Australia, companies not listed publicly are required to prepare an annual report that includes a directors' report, financial report, and an auditor's report. The report is to be distributed to its shareholders 21 days before its annual general meeting or four months after the end of the financial year. This regulation is in place because members of the public who have invested in such companies are not always in a position to get information about the companies performance and so would not be able to [1] monitor their investment and determine the return on their investment.

This is another definition of Non listed company

unlisted public company can have unlimited shareholders to raise capital for profitable purposes. Whilst an unlisted public company can raise funds for any commercial venture, it must not advertise for investors. An unlisted public company is generally a small company not suitable for listing on the Stock Exchange. An unlisted public company must have at least 3 directors, at least 2 of whom are Australian residents.

Advantage disadvantages of listed company

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_company Advantages It is able to raise funds and capital through the sale of its securities. This is the reason why public corporations are so important: prior to their existence, it was very difficult to obtain large amounts of capital for private enterprises. In addition to being able to easily raise capital, public companies may issue their securities as compensation for those that provide services to the company, such as their directors, officers, and employees. A private company also has several advantages. It has no requirement to publicly disclose much, if any financial information; such information could be useful to competitors. For example, Form 10-K is an annual report required by the SEC each year that is a comprehensive summary of a company's performance. Private companies do not file form 10-Ks. It is less pressured to "make the numbers"-to meet quarterly projections for sales and profits, and thus in theory able to make decisions that are best in the long-run. It spends less for certified public accountants and other bureaucratic paperwork required of public companies by government regulations. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States does not apply to private companies. The wealth and income of the owners remains relatively unknown by the public. Advantages continued:

shareholders enjoy limited liability additional capital can be raised by issuing more shares or debentures it enjoys greater borrowing power board of directors with expertise/experience can be appointed to take decisions and delegates responsibilities shareholders can sell/transfer their shares freely

Disadvantages
While private companies may also issue their securities as compensation for services, the recipients of those securities often have difficulty selling them on the open market. Securities from a public company typically have an established fair market value at any given time as determined by the price the security is sold for on the stock exchange where the security is traded. The financial media and city analysts will be able to access additional information about the business. Disadvantages continued:

loss of overall ownership and control of the business (the personal touch may be lost) decisions, due to bureaucracy, take longer and there may be disagreements significant expenses are incurred when setting up a company (legal, accountants, taxes, consultants, etc.) more statutory regulations to conform to more people to share profits with (less income)

financial affairs must be disclosed publicly (this information could be used to competitors advantage) published accounts must to be prepared (time consuming and costly)