Don’t Overlook SEC Translation Requirements

Publicly traded companies are highly regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  The purpose of the SEC is to ensure all stockholders are provided true and accurate information about the company to make educated decisions about their investments, resulting in fair, orderly, and efficient markets.  When foreign entities own companies, the SEC translation requirements mean most documentation to be filed should do so with an English translation.

Summary of the SEC translation requirements:

Specifically, § 230.403  and § 240.12b-12 require all Securities Act filing and submissions to be made in English with few exceptions.  If a registration statement or other filing requires an attachment of a document that is in a foreign language, the filer must submit a fair and accurate English translation of the entire foreign language document.  Some of the documents that are called out specifically include:

• Articles of incorporation, memoranda of association, bylaws, and other comparable documents, whether original or restated;
• Instruments defining the rights of security holders, including indentures qualified or to be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939;
• Voting agreements, including voting trust agreements;
• Contracts to which directors, officers, promoters, voting trustees or security holders named in a registration statement are parties;
• Contracts upon which a filer’s business is substantially dependent;
• Audited annual and interim consolidated financial information; and
• Any document that is or will be the subject of a confidential treatment request under other sections of Rule 403.

Global businesses have several options for translation services, from crowdsourced translation to machine translation tools and final professional translators.  Its critical executives do not treat this decision lightly and choose an economical option for the sake of getting translation done quickly and cheaply.  Machine translation tools can easily lead to material errors since the software is unaware of the intricacies involved in the legal submissions.  Crowdsourced translation is only slightly better since you may get feedback from language experts but likely not from individuals with experience preparing legal documentation for SEC filings.

Don’t trust your important translations to anyone less than the best.

For the most accurate legal translations, including SEC filings, choose a professional translation partner that combines language fluency and industry expertise, like The Perfect Translation.  The Perfect Translation pairs our clients with professionals who have knowledge and expertise in the fields they are now translating for, including immigration, business, real estate, financial, academic, legal, and medical.  We’ll make sure your legal translations are accurate the first time.  Contact us today for a free quote!