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Impaired translations: IFRS from English and annual reports into English

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Impaired translations: IFRS from English and annual reports into English. / Nobes, Christopher; Stadler, Christian.
In: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol. 31, No. 7, 17.09.2018, p. 1981-2005.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Nobes, C & Stadler, C 2018, 'Impaired translations: IFRS from English and annual reports into English', Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, vol. 31, no. 7, pp. 1981-2005. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-06-2017-2978

APA

Nobes, C., & Stadler, C. (2018). Impaired translations: IFRS from English and annual reports into English. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 31(7), 1981-2005. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-06-2017-2978

Vancouver

Nobes C, Stadler C. Impaired translations: IFRS from English and annual reports into English. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. 2018 Sept 17;31(7):1981-2005. Epub 2018 Aug 28. doi: 10.1108/AAAJ-06-2017-2978

Author

Nobes, Christopher ; Stadler, Christian. / Impaired translations : IFRS from English and annual reports into English. In: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. 2018 ; Vol. 31, No. 7. pp. 1981-2005.

Bibtex

@article{3a8b2d8090b5474a90afc67eb702cd89,
title = "Impaired translations: IFRS from English and annual reports into English",
abstract = "PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine translation in the context of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by taking the example of the English term “impairment” in IAS 36, and following it into 19 translations. The paper then examines the terms used for impairment in English translations of annual reports provided by firms. Consideration is given to the best approach for translating regulations and whether that is also suitable for the translation of annual reports.Design/methodology/approachThe two empirical parts of the paper involve: first, identifying the terms for impairment used in 19 official translations of IAS 36, and second, examining English-language translations of reports provided by 393 listed firms from 11 major countries.FindingsNearly all the terms used for “impairment” in translations of IAS 36 do not convey the message of damage to assets. In annual reports translated into English, many terms are misleading in that they do not mention impairment, peaking at 39 per cent in German and Italian reports in one year.Research limitations/implicationsResearchers should note that the information related to impairment in international databases is likely to contain errors, and the authors recommend that data should be hand-collected and then carefully checked by experts. The authors make suggestions for further research.Practical implicationsTranslators of regulations should aim to convey the messages of the source documents, but translators of annual reports should not look only at the reports but also consult the terminology in the original regulations. The authors also suggest implications for regulators and analysts.Originality/valueThe paper innovates by separately considering regulations and annual reports. The authors examine a key accounting term systematically into a wide range of official translations. The core section of the paper is a new field of research: an empirical study of the translations of firms{\textquoteright} financial statements.",
keywords = "Translation, IFRS, Impairment, International differences",
author = "Christopher Nobes and Christian Stadler",
note = "This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.",
year = "2018",
month = sep,
day = "17",
doi = "10.1108/AAAJ-06-2017-2978",
language = "English",
volume = "31",
pages = "1981--2005",
journal = "Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal",
issn = "0951-3574",
publisher = "Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.",
number = "7",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Impaired translations

T2 - IFRS from English and annual reports into English

AU - Nobes, Christopher

AU - Stadler, Christian

N1 - This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

PY - 2018/9/17

Y1 - 2018/9/17

N2 - PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine translation in the context of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by taking the example of the English term “impairment” in IAS 36, and following it into 19 translations. The paper then examines the terms used for impairment in English translations of annual reports provided by firms. Consideration is given to the best approach for translating regulations and whether that is also suitable for the translation of annual reports.Design/methodology/approachThe two empirical parts of the paper involve: first, identifying the terms for impairment used in 19 official translations of IAS 36, and second, examining English-language translations of reports provided by 393 listed firms from 11 major countries.FindingsNearly all the terms used for “impairment” in translations of IAS 36 do not convey the message of damage to assets. In annual reports translated into English, many terms are misleading in that they do not mention impairment, peaking at 39 per cent in German and Italian reports in one year.Research limitations/implicationsResearchers should note that the information related to impairment in international databases is likely to contain errors, and the authors recommend that data should be hand-collected and then carefully checked by experts. The authors make suggestions for further research.Practical implicationsTranslators of regulations should aim to convey the messages of the source documents, but translators of annual reports should not look only at the reports but also consult the terminology in the original regulations. The authors also suggest implications for regulators and analysts.Originality/valueThe paper innovates by separately considering regulations and annual reports. The authors examine a key accounting term systematically into a wide range of official translations. The core section of the paper is a new field of research: an empirical study of the translations of firms’ financial statements.

AB - PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine translation in the context of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by taking the example of the English term “impairment” in IAS 36, and following it into 19 translations. The paper then examines the terms used for impairment in English translations of annual reports provided by firms. Consideration is given to the best approach for translating regulations and whether that is also suitable for the translation of annual reports.Design/methodology/approachThe two empirical parts of the paper involve: first, identifying the terms for impairment used in 19 official translations of IAS 36, and second, examining English-language translations of reports provided by 393 listed firms from 11 major countries.FindingsNearly all the terms used for “impairment” in translations of IAS 36 do not convey the message of damage to assets. In annual reports translated into English, many terms are misleading in that they do not mention impairment, peaking at 39 per cent in German and Italian reports in one year.Research limitations/implicationsResearchers should note that the information related to impairment in international databases is likely to contain errors, and the authors recommend that data should be hand-collected and then carefully checked by experts. The authors make suggestions for further research.Practical implicationsTranslators of regulations should aim to convey the messages of the source documents, but translators of annual reports should not look only at the reports but also consult the terminology in the original regulations. The authors also suggest implications for regulators and analysts.Originality/valueThe paper innovates by separately considering regulations and annual reports. The authors examine a key accounting term systematically into a wide range of official translations. The core section of the paper is a new field of research: an empirical study of the translations of firms’ financial statements.

KW - Translation

KW - IFRS

KW - Impairment

KW - International differences

U2 - 10.1108/AAAJ-06-2017-2978

DO - 10.1108/AAAJ-06-2017-2978

M3 - Journal article

VL - 31

SP - 1981

EP - 2005

JO - Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal

JF - Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal

SN - 0951-3574

IS - 7

ER -