Financial translation

Financial translation: when every figure and every term matters

Financial translation sits at the crossroads of linguistics and finance. A mistranslation in an annual report, an imprecise term in an IPO prospectus, or a regulatory inconsistency in a MiFID II filing can result in filing rejections, regulatory sanctions, or investor litigation.

Asiatis has supported banks, investment funds, listed companies and audit firms since 2000 with a team of translators who hold dual financial and linguistic qualifications: CFA charterholders, qualified accountants, Masters in Finance, former buy-side and sell-side professionals retrained in financial translation.

Core financial documents we translate

Market-speed turnaround: 24/7 global coverage

Financial markets operate in real time. An earnings announcement, regulatory change or crisis demands immediate translation capacity. Asiatis maintains offices across three time zones (Paris–Canada–Singapore) to cover every major market opening:

• Asia-Pacific: Tokyo and Hong Kong open at 2:00 a.m. Paris time. Our Singapore team is on hand.
• Europe: London, Frankfurt, Euronext Paris — covered from our Paris headquarters.
• Americas: Wall Street opens at 3:30 p.m. Paris time. Our Canadian team takes over until US close.

Result: press releases translated in 2–4 hours, financial reports within 24–48 hours, IPO prospectuses in 48–72 hours. No matter the time zone or urgency, Asiatis delivers.

IFRS vs US GAAP: terminological precision matters

Translating financial statements requires more than linguistic competence: our translators master the terminological differences between the major accounting standards.

This terminological precision underpins every financial translation we deliver. An IFRS annual report translated using US GAAP terminology would be rejected by auditors. Our translators know exactly which standard applies to your filing jurisdiction.

IPO prospectus translation: our express workflow

Initial Public Offerings are governed by tight deadlines set by market regulators (AMF in France, SEC in the US, FCA in the UK). A prospectus (50–200 pages) must be translated rapidly for simultaneous cross-jurisdictional filing. Our express workflow:

1. Dedicated project team: immediate mobilisation of 3–5 senior financial translators scaled to volume, coordinated by a single project manager.
2. Parallel translation: the prospectus is segmented by section (company overview, risk factors, financial statements, appendices). Each translator handles a section simultaneously.
3. Pre-established glossary: terminological extraction before translation begins (products, markets, financial indicators). Key terms validated with the client.
4. Cross-review: terminological consistency across sections (one term = one translation throughout). Style harmonisation.
5. Coordination with your legal counsel and auditors: direct exchanges for validation of critical sections (risk factors, liability statements).

Turnaround: 50–100 page prospectus translated in 48–72 hours. Express surcharge of +30–50% vs standard rates. Sections delivered progressively to accelerate client-side legal review.

CFA charterholders and qualified accountants

Our financial translators all hold formal finance or accounting qualifications:

• CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst): the global standard for financial analysis (valuation, portfolio management, derivatives).
• Qualified accountants: holders of accountancy qualifications (DEC in France, CPA in the US), specialising in IFRS/GAAP, consolidation and audit.
• Masters in Finance: capital markets, investment banking, asset management.
• Former banking and insurance professionals: ex-traders, fund managers and analysts who have retrained in financial translation.

Each translator is assigned according to their area of expertise. Example: an IFRS annual report will be translated by a qualified accountant-linguist. Result: native understanding of financial mechanisms, precise terminology, no misrender of key indicators (EBITDA, free cash flow, ROE).

Confidentiality: reinforced protocol for sensitive information

Financial documents contain sensitive information (unpublished results, M&A strategies, investor personal data). Asiatis applies a strict confidentiality protocol:

• Systematic NDA: non-disclosure agreement signed before any document transfer.
• Secure transmission: TLS-encrypted servers, secure platforms (Dropbox Business, SharePoint).
• Translators bound by confidentiality clauses: contractual commitment, prohibition on trading (insider dealing).
• Automatic deletion: files deleted after delivery or stored on GDPR-compliant secure servers.