Anglais approfondissement
Anglais approfondissement
Birabent.
12.09.13
Présentation du cours – CM
- Communication interne ou externe
- Rédaction, traduction, révision
- Terminologie anglais-français
- Tour d’horizon théorique
- Documents authentiques
- Mise en application du CM en TD (travaux individuels et groupes).
CM Approfondissement Anglais LEA MAA2 semestre 3 (module sur spiral) : textes.
Thèmes de travail
- L’entreprise et ses actionnaires
- Les entreprises et l’éthique
- La responsabilité sociale d’entreprise
- Développement durable
- Environnement, écologie
- Aspects interculturels.
/!\ Examen /!\ 2h : double exercice de traduction, rédaction et/ou révision reprenant les sujets abordés en
CM pendant le semestre.
Chapter one:
Companies & shareholders
- Shareholders, who are they? Why are they so powerful?
They invest money in a company (shares). The board of management has not actually the power, it is less
powerful than shareholders. C are made of shareholders, board of directors.
The shareholders are the one who bring money to the C, their role is basically passive. Emphasis is placed
on the investment function as they own the C. They do not make the day to day decisions about the C.
They don’t rule it. Their shares may be ordinary or preferences shares and in the US they are called
common and preference shares. Together, the shareholders share the risks and they hope to share the
profit (because if you invest in a C and if that bankrupts -> lose your investment). When you invest in a C,
you expect to get something in return and it is sharing the profits. That profit which is divided among
shareholders is called a dividend on the share (every year/six months/quarter). Return on investment.
They meet once a year at the General Annual Meeting to be sure the C is run efficiently (they make their
voice heard). They may elect representatives who may defend their interests (=the board of directors) and
they are the people that are legally responsible for the C. In this board you find a chairman and directors.
This board are responsible to the shareholders (they elect them) and are responsible for the general
corporate policy of the C (they are in charge of it). The chairman chairs the meeting/the Board and he is
elected by the board of directors. During those board meetings, the directors present the C annual report
and account to the shareholders (they are responsible to them) and shareholders will approve or not this
report and this will be done usually at the end of each trading/fiscal year (un exercice financier).
1/24
, Anglais approfondissement
They also appoint the 3rd level of the C, the management. Within the management we have managing
directors (called MD in UK and CEO in US). [Chairman = president, CEO = directeur general]. The managing
director has authority over the staff, there are also department managers (ex: marketing director).
- Specific communication
- Investors/shareholders section:
o Newsletter
o Club/association/etc
o Annual or quarterly reports: every quarter C have to present some accounts and usually it is
a public act.
- The annual general meeting
o Once a year, sometimes exceptional AGM
o Invitation (=convocation à l’AG)
o Notice (=avis de convocation) In order to make your voice heard as a shareholder you will
vote. Shareholders vote for specific decisions.
19.09
Avis de convocation – air france KLM & EasyJet
- Page de garde pr chacun des deux documents : présentation + soignée chez Airfrance.
- On trouve l’objet du courrier pr les deux: on précise que c’est pr les actionnaires.
- Courrier pr inviter actionnaires à l’AG.
- Style ≠ chez EasyJet : dear shareholders, date, signature du président mais à l’intérieur du courrier
on a tous les points qui vont être abordés lors de l’AG.
- AirFrance: on a les ≠ explicatons: ordre du jour, modalités de participation...
- Certains éléments doivent figurer de manière obligatoire ds le document:
o Entreprise X ou Y qui organise l’AG (qui)
o Date (quand)
o Endroit (où)
o Ordre du jour (quoi = objet): résolutions sur lesquelles on va voter (décisions).
En Fr on va voter sur l’approbation des comptes, textes règlementaires et sur nominations/fonctions. En
ang, de nouveau c’est la 1ère des résolutions : présenter les résultats, approuver les comptes. La 2ème
concerne également des résolutions ordinaires (nominations, mandat...), cad tt ce qui concerne l’équipe de
direction de manière générale. On entre ds les émissions d’actions, rachats.. . Enfin on a un point à propos
de la convocation à l’AG (modifications éventuelles, surtout pour les AG non annuelles). On a également
des recommandations faites par le PDG tels que les changements de date d’ouverture de l’exercice et
changement de statut. A titre extraordinaire, ce sont des résolutions soumises à un vote mais elles ne sont
pas des résolutions sur lesquelles on prend des décisions tous les ans (#approbation des comptes, qui fait
parti de l’équipe de direction).
On trouve ensuite les résolutions ordinaires (2ème partie du courrier). Ds l’E fr on a un courrier (cover
letter avec info essentielles). Ds le courrier GB on va plus ds le détail et donne l’ordre du jour (sur quoi vont
voter les actionnaires). Résolutions extraordinaires = special resolutions. /!\
Qui est à la tête de l’entreprise? On élit et réelit certaines personnes.
En ccl ds la convocation de l’E à l’AG on peut trouver:
La lettre, l’avis de convocation, qui peut participer à l’AG, avec un panorama de l’E, on explique en détails
les résolutions, le PDG donne qq orientations de vote et ensuite on a le bulletin de vote. On a également
les rapports des commissaires aux comptes qui réalisent un audit de l’E, m un audit financier. Ce st eux qui
s’engagent publiquement, ils engagent leur responsabilité car ils affirment qu’après leur analyse il n’y a
aucune irrégularités financières (s’il y a malversations ils sont sensés les faire ressortir).
2/24
, Anglais approfondissement
Ces E de commissaires aux comptes (=auditors) peuvent changer selon le bon vouloir de la société (après
vote). On a aussi des styles différents: both airline company one is low cost company and the other one is
regular. So we have here two differences that may need to be taken into account. Easyjet the informal
direct and even in the letter that the chairman sends to the shareholdes it is not as friendly as the French
one. The tone is completely different. In the letter itself it is much more longer because the chairman tells
you how you should vote or at least why resolutions have been made. Fr = softer. The chairman’s letter is
completely different. The C sort of tells you how you should vote but it is a bit different, it is more subtil.
EASYJET invitation
- Name of the C
- Tells you what this is about
- Logo + slogan “Turning Europe orange”
- Legal formula : “This document is important and requires your immediate attention. If you are in any
doubt about the action to be taken, you should immediately consult your stockbroker, solicitor,
accountant or other independent adviser authorised under the financial services and markets act
2000.”
Stockbroker: agent de change. Stock Exchange (bourse). They are going to buy stock and shares for you.
They don’t have one customer, they usually work for a C for a bank. It is someone who do the legal
operation of buying and selling for you, you can ask the person who is in charge of your account to also buy
stock for you. In that case, that person would be “une chargée d’affaire”. This is not exactly the same thing.
Sollicitor: =lawyer, avocat/ici conseiller juridique ou fiscal.
Accountant =comptable.
“Independant adviser” here = cabinet de conseil, consultant (fiscal, financier mais pas juridique).
Fiscal year: exercice financier.
Shareholders will be asked to receive the annual reports and accounts: they agree on the reports and
accounts. (=approbation des comptes). Ici l’actionnaire accuse réception et prend connaissance des
comptes en les approuvant.
“A copy of the annual report and accounts is enclosed”.
Vous trouverez ci-joint une copie du rapport. (On a de nouveau un rapport qui concerne la rémuneration
des dirigeants).
“It is mandatory for every listed company to put its directors’ remuneration report to an advisory
shareholder vote”.
This is the same thing in Fr and GB, shareholders need to know how much directors are paid.
Sometimes they may have to approve
It is mandatory: il est obligatoire ≠ it is advisory: il est conseillé de.
“As the vote is advisory it does not affect the actual remuneration paid to any individual Director”.
Ce vote est consultatif, il n’a donc aucune incidence sur la rémunération des directeurs.
The C articles of association: statuts de l’entreprise.
FTSE 350: Br Stock Exchange index.
We have directors and non executive directors (=people not actually part of the C, don’t work in the C, but
part of the Board -> “mb extérieurs du CA”). They have enough knowledge on the field to give some advice,
to be able to make enlighten decisions for the C but they don’t work for the C. They are paid to be part of
the Board.
Resolution that you don’t find in the Fr agenda (=ordre du jour): political donations and expenditures. ->
legal. It means that the C can give some money to some political party up to X£ without asking the
shareholders. Over 500 000£ shareholders have to know about. This is the legal sentence, reason why they
3/24