The Company is an legal personality which comes into existence through a process of law. Therefore its life can also be brought to an end only through the process of law.

Since a company has a separate existence from its members its life span is not affected by the life span of any of its members.
One of the ways to dissolve a company is to resort to the process of winding up or liquidation
Therefore, when the process of winding up commences, the company is said to be in liquidation