BETWEEN THE MANAGEMENT BOARD AND THE INVESTOR – TRANSLATING ANNUAL REPORTS

Beginning in mid-December, those days filled with Christmas cheer and anticipation, Leinhäuser Language Services is entering an intense season of the year: the time of annual reports. The first management reports begin showing up for translation, and the Leinhäuser account managers on the company’s financial communications team fine-tune their capacities. Translating quarterly, half-year and annual business report is one of the most challenging jobs that Leinhäuser takes on each year. The work demands precision, speed and expertise. It is a delicate task not simply because every work step, every word and every figure must be exactly right. The translation job also requires confidentiality and secure communications throughout the entire process.

“You have to handle annual reports with very special care,” says Jessica Schulz, an account manager for financial communications at Leinhäuser. Working with other colleagues, she coordinates the team of translators and editors who specialize in financial publications and investor relations. Each team member is well versed in relevant accounting standards and legal regulations like the German Commercial Code, IFRS and CRR. These individuals translate texts for companies listed in Germany’s blue-chip DAX index as well as for small and medium-sized enterprises. Generally, the business reports are translated into English or German. But other language combinations are provided as well.

If the subject matter itself was not enough to cause sleepless nights, the job of translating annual reports is complicated by one other fact of life: The texts arrive in waves. Parts of the management reports will turn up early. But the figures-packed sections like the balance sheet, the income statement and the notes to the financial statement will frequently turn up just before the print deadline. For this reason, the process that extends from the initial contact to the finished annual report should be well-organized. “The biggest problem we face is the lack of time we have to do the translations,” Schulz said. “If the annual report is supposed to be released in March, we should ideally have everything translated and edited by mid-February.” Faced with such tight deadlines, translators must be brought on board at an early stage. “During the peak period of January to March, five account managers and 15 highly specialized translators and editors will be involved solely with the job of translating and editing annual reports.” The account managers will coordinate the multi-step process in the background, and the customers will always have a central contact partner to whom they can turn throughout the process.

For Jessica Schulz and her colleague Robert Röder, another account manager for financial communications at Leinhäuser, time is the toughest challenge they face. Röder says: “Ideally, we will start planning the translation of an annual report six months before its release date. We will hear from many customers as early as August.” With this information in hand, the account managers begin the job of assembling their teams, estimating timeframes and coordinating schedules with customers. This leaves room for joint discussions about which text or step should be eventually given a higher priority to prevent bottlenecks from developing down the road. This will also create the time needed to ensure the total accuracy of the translation.

Leinhäuser is also ready when deadlines grow tight. It sets up a standby team that can handle any last-minute changes made to an annual report. A standby manager and a native-speaker translator from the team will be available after business hours to take care of any information or changes made shortly before an annual report is to be printed. There can be many reasons for such changes: An important board meeting may be held to discuss the numbers on the evening before the print deadline or a company will work over the weekend to hone the final versions of texts that will then have to be translated and added to the annual report.

To make sure that the job is done quickly and smoothly, Leinhäuser’s teams use established file formats, particularly documents created with “FIRE.sys” software, an editorial system for financial publications. As a way of ensuring the confidentiality of the sensitive information, the company’s team takes a number of security steps, including protected discussion platforms, passwords and e-mail encryption. “Some companies have also given us insider status,” Röder says.

The financial communications team does not just work on annual reports. It translates financial information and investor relations texts for customers year-round – from ad-hoc announcements and press releases to invitations to the next annual general meeting. You will find more information about our financial communications services here.

Our financial communications team will be happy to assist you:

Nina Mölbert, Account Manager

Wolfram Reichel, Senior Account Manager

Robert Röder, Senior Account Manager

Annette Schmidt, Senior Key Account Manager

Jessica Schulz, Account Manager

Mary Tannert, Ph.D., Senior Manager