Monthly Email Newsletter
February 2006
IN THIS ISSUE:
I. Message from the Editor
II. Articles:
***
FEATURED INDUSTRY: Financial
1. Translation and U.S. Regulatory Compliance
2. Useful Links
***
FEATURED LANGUAGE: French (European)
3. French Quick-Glance
4. French Speakers on the Web
5. Useful Links
III. Industry Tip Sheets Available
IV. In Our Next Issue
V. Your Feedback
VI. How to Subscribe
I. MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
As foreign companies listed on U.S. exchanges look to meet the approaching Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 filing deadline, the translation of documents for compliance is fast becoming a hot topic of discussion in the financial industry. Because of the importance of compliance, our feature article in this issue gives you tips for financial translation and, specifically, points of consideration when contracting a language services provider to translate your annual reports, financial statements, audit reports, and more.
Our featured language in this issue is European French, which is spoken by more than 62 million people. French is the official language in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Monaco, and Switzerland. It is one of the official languages of the European Union. Read our "French Speakers on the Web" article for more information on just how many of them are logging on and find out how fast this online demographic is growing.
And finally, we are pleased to offer a special 25% discount for Global Communicator readers interested in attending the 15th Annual Partnership with CROs conference on April 3-5, 2006 in Las Vegas. GLS is a media sponsor for the event.
Since this newsletter is meant to create a virtual community where we share the latest news and advice, we invite you to
contact us with your suggestions, story ideas, statistics, and website tips.
Inna Kassatkina
Editor
II. ARTICLES
*** FEATURED INDUSTRY: FINANCIAL
1. Translation and U.S. Regulatory Compliance
For many global public companies, filing their documents with various U.S. regulatory organizations means taking the forms and information from the source language and translating them to and from English. As such, the translation of financial and legal documents for internal audits (i.e. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, or forms and documents to meet the requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, calls for the use of a highly specialized language service provider familiar with the industry and its regulations. GLS offers the following suggestions and resources for using financial translation services to meet U.S. regulatory compliance guidelines:
- STAY INFORMED. Financial translation providers must stay current with the latest regulations and laws affecting the global financial services industry. In addition, they should routinely monitor SEC and NASD regulatory compliance alerts.
- INDUSTRY EXPERTISE. In the translation services industry, there are translators with specific areas of expertise - just as there are specialists in the medical, legal, and corporate sectors. Look for a team of experienced financial translators who specializes in the accurate interpretation of legal terminology between languages and diverse business cultures. Public companies with international operations require highly specialized legal and financial document translation services to perfect and accelerate their audits processes, the results of which should considerably enhance their continued compliance with stringent SEC requirements.
- RAPID TURNAROUND AND QUALITY CONTROL PROCESS. Most translation providers are not going to say that they pride themselves in slow turnaround. In addition to a translation firm's pledge for quick and accurate turnaround, pay close attention to the project management system and quality control mechanisms in place. Look for a clear sense of understanding of the challenges facing audit professionals in obtaining fast and accurate translations of foreign financial documents to meet the rigid requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This will become even more important as foreign companies listed on U.S. exchanges look to meet the Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 filing deadline of July 15, 2006.
- ATTENTION TO DETAIL. You are responsible for the accuracy of the documents you file - not your translation firm. For example, NASD Rule 3010 requires members to establish and maintain supervisory systems to ensure that the activities of their registered representatives and associated persons (in this case the translation firm) comply with applicable laws and regulations. In order to meet these standards, the broker or dealer must take steps necessary to ensure that the translation of its presentation is accurate, regardless of whether it or its client provided the translator. According to the NASD, the broker or dealer should make sure the translator is qualified, either by receiving such assurances from the client if it hires the translator, or by investigating the translator's qualifications itself.
Therefore, work with a provider that has multiple internal checks and balances in place, such as back translation and project management processes, to guarantee accuracy and completeness in the translation of the documents.
- CODE OF ETHICS. Financial translation professionals require uniform ethical standards that will both guide and protect the translator in the course of his or her duties as well as uphold the standards of the profession as a whole. NASD Rule 2110 requires members to observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade in the conduct of their business. It also directs that the activities of their registered representatives and associated persons (in this case the translation firm) comply with applicable laws and regulations. Determining if you're working with an ethical translation company is not an exact science, but it can be based on a combination of checking its references and processes as well as its industry reputation.
- RANSLATION MEMORY (TM) TOOLS. TM software analyzes repetitive text in the source documents and then queries a translation memory database to identify previously translated segments. Because there is a lot of repetition in various financial documents (such as 10-Ks, 10-Qs, etc.), TM tools ensure consistency of terminology, expedite future revisions, and reduce translation costs. These tools should not be confused with machine translation (MT) software, which is unusable for translation of most financial and legal documents.
For more information...
A wide range of global organizations turn to GLS for the translation of financial documents such as annual reports, financial statements, audit reports, policy documents, shareholder communications, public offering prospectuses, fact sheets, and press releases.
Contact us to find out more about our financial translation services.
SOURCES:
1. http://www.nasd.com
2. http://www.sec.gov
2. Useful Links
For information about Sarbanes-Oxley and topics related to international company compliance, refer to the following websites:
http://www.insidesarbanesoxley.com
http://www.sarbanes-oxley.com
http://www.complianceweek.com
http://www.s-ox.com
For information related to other U.S. compliance-related bills and regulations, visit the following websites:
http://www.sec.gov
http://www.consumerprivacyguide.org
http://banking.senate.gov/conf/
*** FEATURED LANGUAGE: FRENCH (EUROPEAN)
3. FRENCH QUICK-GLANCE
French hangs on the Gallo-Romance branch of the Indo-European family tree, and is most closely related to Occitan, Francoprovençal, and Gascon. With more than 62 million speakers, French is the official language in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Monaco, and Switzerland. It is one of the official languages of the European Union.
According to the BBC's language resource center, the reason why French today is still sometimes called the 'langue d'oïl' stems from Roman times. In the old Roman province of Gaul, 'oc 'and 'oïl' were the 2 different ways of saying 'yes'. So the Gauls were divided into those in the north who spoke the 'langue d'oïl', and those in the south who spoke the 'langue d'oc'. The northern Gaul's way of speaking spread, although you can still hear modern Occitan in southern France. A poem recounting the martyrdom of St. Eulalia is the earliest French text in existence, and it dates from the 9th century AD.
4. FRENCH SPEAKERS ON THE WEB
How robust is the number of French speakers who are logging onto the Internet? According to Internet World Stats listing of users by language, French ranks sixth, right behind German, but ahead of Italian, Korean, and Russian. What is even more surprising is the growth numbers realized by this language segment. This same ranking lists French at a more than 200% growth in users from 2000-2005.
Interested in the other languages making the top 10 list? Visit
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm.
5. Useful Links
Local newspapers and country- or language-specific search engines can be great sources of information about political, economic, and social issues that are important to French-speaking people. Business articles will also help you to identify new business contacts, refine your marketing methods, and assess whether economy is strong enough and the timing is right to launch your new business expansion abroad.
NEWSPAPERS AND ONLINE NEWS RESOURCES:
http://www.french-news.com/
http://www.afp.com/english/home/
http://www.pressreleases.be/home.html
http://www.indymedia.be/
SEARCH ENGINES:
http://www.search-belgium.com/
http://fr.altavista.com/
http://www.cocorico.com/
III. INDUSTRY TIP SHEETS AVAILABLE
Request one of our useful, easy-to-follow tip sheets for translation services across a variety of industries, including legal, healthcare (ICF translation), pharmaceutical, and medical devices. Also available is a tip sheet on what to look for in a translation firm.
Visit our website to download any of the above tip sheets.
IV. IN OUR NEXT ISSUE
*** FEATURED TOPIC: TRADE SHOW INDUSTRY
*** FEATURED LANGUAGE: RUSSIAN
V. YOUR FEEDBACK
Have questions? Or a story idea or topic you would like us to address in a future issue?
Contact us.
VI. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
