Simultaneous Interpretation for Shareholders' Meetings

Why shareholders' meetings require simultaneous interpretation

The general meeting is the body in which shareholders decide on the company's most important matters: management accounts, allocation of earnings, election of directors, executive compensation, capital increases, bylaw amendments and corporate transactions. At the ordinary general meeting (AGM), which under the Brazilian Corporations Law must be held within the first four months after the end of the fiscal year, these matters come together. At the extraordinary general meeting (EGM), the agenda is specific and often decisive, such as a merger, a consolidation or a share offering.

When there are foreign shareholders with a relevant stake, language becomes a condition for the effective exercise of the right to vote. A fund that does not understand the capital increase proposal or the effect of a bylaw amendment on its rights cannot vote with confidence. Simultaneous interpretation solves this without lengthening the meeting: the shareholder hears the board table and the other participants in their language, almost in real time, and can also ask questions and speak in the language of their choice.

It is a service usually hired by the legal department, the corporate governance office or Investor Relations, and it needs to be arranged in advance, because it involves corporate material that is only ready after the call notice is published.

In-person, virtual and hybrid meetings: how interpretation works in each

At in-person meetings, interpretation is delivered through individual UHF receivers. The interpreter works in a portable soundproof booth, preferably with a view of the board table, and each shareholder who needs the language picks up a receiver at the entrance. lingo's technical operator monitors the signal throughout the session. The equipment is light and does not interfere with the room layout.

At digital meetings, remote interpretation (RSI) enters as a language channel on the platform the company uses, whether the digital meeting platform, Zoom or Teams. The shareholder chooses the channel in the interface itself and follows the session in the language they want. lingo configures the channel about 30 minutes before opening, together with the platform's technical contact.

At hybrid meetings, the two formats work in parallel, with the same interpreter serving those in the room and those connected. This keeps terminology consistent between the two audiences and prevents a different translation of the same term from being heard in the auditorium and in the stream.

From Brazilian law to English: the vocabulary challenge

The vocabulary of a meeting mixes legal terms from the Brazilian Corporations Law with governance and capital markets terms that have no exact match in American or English law. The interpreter has to know the concept behind the term in order to choose the right equivalent and, when there is no exact equivalent, use the short explanation that the foreign listener will understand without ambiguity.

A few examples: “ordem do dia” corresponds to agenda or order of business; “quórum de instalação” and “quórum de deliberação” require distinguishing between the minimum number to open the session and the majority needed to approve each matter; “voto a distância” by ballot corresponds to absentee voting or proxy voting, depending on the case; “direito de recesso” is usually dissenters' rights or appraisal rights, depending on the context; “fato relevante” is equivalent to material fact; “conselho fiscal” is not exactly an audit committee, and the difference must be kept in the speech.

There are also terms the company uses in its own way, such as names of share classes, debenture series or incentive programs. For these, the glossary prepared from the call notice and the management proposal documents is the source of truth.

How lingo prepares the interpretation of a meeting

Preparation begins with the call notice, which lists the agenda, and with the management proposal, which explains each item. lingo also asks for the current bylaws, the financial statements for the year, the meeting's support materials (such as presentations by the chair of the board) and, when there is one, the absentee ballot. With this material, the interpreter builds the company-specific glossary and studies the sequence of items.

For recurring meetings, the work accumulates: the glossary is updated at each meeting and the interpreter arrives knowing the spokespeople, the chair's style and the topics that tend to generate debate. It is the same principle as board of directors engagements, where continuity reduces the risk of error.

The recommended lead time is 5 to 7 days, counted from receipt of the call notice and the agenda. For the remote format, it is possible to work with a shorter lead time, as long as the material arrives with the necessary notice.

Confidentiality and governance of the work

A meeting's documents may contain undisclosed information, such as proposals for corporate transactions. Every lingo engagement is covered by an NDA valid for 5 years, and Alex Barros does not accept competing engagements on the same deal. The material is used only to prepare the interpretation.

Interpretation does not replace the minutes or the official record of the meeting. It is a means of access to information for those who do not speak Portuguese, and what counts legally remains what is in the minutes. That is why the interpreter limits themselves to faithfully conveying what is said, without commenting, summarizing or anticipating the board table's positions.

Voting, debate and shareholder questions

The vote itself is conducted by the company's systems or by the digital platform it uses. The interpreter's role is to convert the proposals, the board table's clarifications and the debates in real time, so that the foreign shareholder votes knowing exactly what is being decided. When a resolution has a long text, such as the wording of a bylaw clause, the table should read it at a moderate pace, and the written material should be available in the same support language.

In debates, the chair of the meeting can organize the floor: each shareholder identifies themselves, states their holding when required and asks the question. The interpreter, working in both directions, converts the question into Portuguese and the answer into the shareholder's language. If the meeting has many participants, it is worth agreeing with the table on a clear flow of requests to speak, to avoid overlapping voices.