Is this person lying?
That's the fundamental question that due diligence seeks to answer. There is, of course, a difference between malicious lies ("we have no pending litigation against us"), lies-by-omission ("we've given you financial information for all entities from whom you've requested information"), and white lies ("I graduated from an Ivy League school," says the Stanford-educated CEO). However, the basis of all due diligence is: "do I trust all the information that is being put in front of me?"
Speaking of trust, why trust a translation company on how the investment world works?
For us, translation and interpretation is more than just a way to reach a wider audience; we believe it helps clients to make better business decisions. Our interpreters facilitate due diligence calls for investors and expert networks (more on these awesome firms later!) every day.
I personally worked in private equity for years before founding Cadence. Indeed, the company was borne out of my experience as an investor that I could get the upper hand and move more quickly if I didn't have to worry about the language barrier.
The goal of this guide is to impart in aspiring investment and due diligence interpreters a better understanding of our client base and their interpretation needs. As a firm with both interpretation and investment in our DNA, we think we're uniquely positioned to provide this guidance.
As an interpreter, why is it important to understand due diligence?
If helping an investor form an opinion on a potential USD $500 million deal isn't enough to get your blood pumping, here are a few more reasons why you should be jumping at the chance to learn more about investment and due diligence:
Give yourself the competitive advantage in an untapped market;
Increase your contextual knowledge for working with Cadence clients;
Help your clients achieve more during meetings and calls.
One more thing...
As you read this guide, you'll notice certain words highlighted in yellow. This indicates that they're either highly important, tricky to use, or both. Mouseover these terms for definitions (or tap if you're on mobile).
By the time you finish this guide, you'll have a firm grasp of how due diligence works and be ready to help your clients do better business across the language barrier!