Annual accounts, profit and loss statements, and financial statements contain a large amount of information in a small space: figures, indicators, accounting concepts, explanations of results, and forecasts.
When these documents are published in multiple languages, the translation must retain the same information and make it easy to read for shareholders, investors, clients, or teams from other countries.
To that end, translating financial reports usually requires specific work on terminology, formats, and consistency across documents.
Which parts of a financial report are translated?
It depends on the type of document, but a translation can include:
- balance sheets;
- profit and loss accounts;
- cash flow statements;
- annual reports;
- management reports;
- notes to financial statements;
- information for shareholders and investors;
- presentations of results;
- audit reports.
In international groups it is also common to work with recurring financial documentation that is updated every quarter, semester, or fiscal year.
Terminology must be consistent from one report to another.
The same concept may appear dozens of times throughout a set of annual accounts.
Maintaining consistent terminology helps ensure that concepts, items, and indicators are identified in the same way across all the different documents.
This is especially important when a company publishes results on a regular basis. A financial translation service can work with glossaries and translation memories to retain terms already approved in previous reports.
It also allows you to maintain the same style in presentations for investors, corporate documentation, and other related content.
Figures, currencies, and formats also vary between markets
Translating a financial report does not only affect the text.
The way that dates, amounts, percentages, decimals, or currencies are presented may vary depending on the language and country. A document aimed at the Spanish, British, or American market may present this data differently.
These adaptations must be made without altering the value of the original information.
Something similar happens in documentation related to financial entities. Banking translation may include tables, financial terms, interest rates, amounts, and references that need to maintain a clear and uniform structure.
When should you turn to financial translation specialists?
Companies often need professional financial translation when presenting results in multiple countries, preparing documentation for international investors, participating in corporate transactions, or managing economic information in different languages.
In these projects, an agency specializing in financial translation can select translators according to the type of document and maintain common terminological criteria throughout the project.
At blarlo, we work with professional native translators specialized by sector and we have ISO 9001 and ISO 17100 certifications.
Frequently asked questions
Annual accounts, balance sheets, profit and loss reports, audits, reports, shareholder reports, bank documentation, and investor presentations are some of the most common.
Because it makes it possible to use the same terms in different reports, exercises, and languages and facilitates consistency in corporate documentation.
Yes. Decimals, dates, currencies, and certain number formats may vary depending on the target market and should be checked during translation.
Do you need to publish your annual accounts or financial reports in other languages? Request a quote for financial translation with blarlo.
