Challenges
All limited companies and economic associations as well as some trading companies are required by law to publish the results of their financial year in an annual report. As well as being a legal requirement, an annual report also represents an excellent opportunity to share results and future strategies in order to boost a company’s brand. If a company has international stakeholders or if the Swedish authorities need to be able to read a financial report written in another language, then there may be a need for that financial report to be translated.
An annual report is a comprehensive document and it’s not uncommon for it to be between 150 and 180 pages long. The large amount of text along with the fact that many writers are involved and that the content often has to be updated as the task progresses means that the annual report translation process is usually complicated and difficult to grasp. By appointing a reputable translation agency such as Novoterm to translate your company’s annual reports, you can ensure that your publication is accurate.
• Use the correct terminology
• Make sure that the content is consistent
• Make sure that the company’s tone of voice is retained in the translation
• Ensure that the financial reports comply with IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards).
Pitfalls
There is almost certainly someone or even a few people in your company who are good at English, and we understand that it can be tempting to choose an internal resource to translate your annual report. However, there is a big difference between being a gifted linguist and having the language as your mother tongue as well as being a qualified and experienced translator. Someone who translates into their native language is aware of the nuances of that language and of any cultural aspects that can influence the choice of words and expressions used – a crucial factor in the translation of financial statements.
• Direct translation of Swedish words
• Unnatural wording
• Ambiguities and lack of clarity
• Grammatical errors
• Incorrect date or number formatting
• Inconsistency in the use of British and American English
• Incorrect terminology.
Why Novoterm?
Novoterm has some 30 years’ experience of providing financial translation services and language editing. Keeping up to date with Swedish and English financial terminology in particular as well as staying abreast of global guidelines and accounting policies are priorities for us. In this way we can ensure that our financial statement translations are of the highest quality.
As a smaller-sized translation agency, Novoterm manages to maintain a close relationship with all the translators in our network and we have customers who return to us time and time again. We value the personal relationship we build with our customers and we will not let go of a project until you – our customers – are completely satisfied. When you contact us, we will assign you a dedicated project manager who will match your text with translators whose native language is your target language – translators who also have industry-specific knowledge and experience of translating annual reports.
Our annual report translations are much more involved than general translations. When you appoint us to tackle your project, we ensure that another linguist quality-checks the translation and we make a note of and gather together any linguistic problems that we find in the source text. The result is an accurate translation of a company’s annual report along with an improved, more readable source text that will inspire confidence in the reader.
1. Contact us in good time to make sure that we have access to translators who can work with the language combinations that you require.
2. Create a clear time schedule for the translation project that includes everyone involved and every step of the working process. It’s best to involve us at the planning stage so that we can create an efficient working process together.
3. Prepare any reference material, such as previous annual reports or company communication guidelines to ensure an accurate translation.
Other financial translation
Here at Novoterm, we can also help with the translation of quarterly and interim reports. Making sure that an annual report is accurate is crucial to protecting your company’s brand. An error in a quarterly or interim report is also less than desirable and could lead to legal consequences. It is just as important to involve us in translating interim reports and quarterly reports as it is for annual reports.
Language translation, language review, text processing and proofreading in over 40 different languages.
FAQS
What languages does Novoterm offer for annual report translation?
The most common language combination for financial translation is to and from English and Swedish, but we can also help with translations to and from other languages including German, French, Italian and Chinese. Contact us to find out if we can help with the language combination that you need.
How does Novoterm ensure accuracy in translating financial terminology?
Our financial translators have a great deal of experience in working with financial texts. When you appoint us to tackle a new translation, we ask for any reference material, terminology lists and communication guidelines and we also check existing publications on our customer’s website. If we find any inconsistencies, we iron them out – and the completed translation is saved in a customer-specific translation memory which ensures that consistency is maintained in any future projects.
Contact Us
Does your company need help with translations of annual, interim or quarterly reports? We help a number of investment companies, banks, large law firms and production agencies with financial report translations and we are used to handling the confidentiality and insider registration that this type of project demands. Contact us for high quality translations – we will get back to you within a couple of hours.
Need help with translation or language review? Please contact us!
Novoterm Translation AB,
Kungsholms Strand 133,
112 33 Stockholm