Localization in the Global Finance Sector

Any global commercial and non-profit institution has a wealth of financial-related content. For any publicly traded and private company, there are millions of financial documents, often in multiple languages.

Financial information often needs to meet local accounting, laws, and compliance regulations and therefore the accurate localization of financial content is an important part of any global organization’s business strategy.

Localizing financial information is a complex process – requiring the highest levels of quality, expertise, and security. However, the growing need for international visibility and multilingual communication means financial translation is critical to ensure compliance with local and global legal standards, alongside attracting clients and investment.

Here are some of the areas in the global finance sector that benefit from professional financial translation services:

Global Banks:

Banks have a wealth of documentation, for example disclosure and foreign investment documentation that must be understood by individuals and organizations outside of the domestic market.

For international banks, their customers all over the world have to be able to understand products and services in the native language, from product and marketing brochures to banking statements. A bank’s brand has to be retained in all target markets and experienced financial translators must localize any information relating to local product features, adhering to local financial regulations.

Investment Banks (iBanks):

A lot of localization needs within the investment banking sector resides within the research activities carried out, typically for equities research and fixed income asset management. Other types of localization may be required, such as company reports, both annual and quarterly, account statements or disclosures for significant audiences such as private equity investors. Earnings reports generated during the earnings period can contain thousands of words and can require translation into numerous languages. These documents must meet compliance and regulation standards, as well as stringent deadlines.

Accountancy Firms:

Global organizations make money in many countries and each subsidiary will have its own set of accounting documents, often prepared by external accountancy firms and consultant groups, required to meet local accounting, compliance, regulatory, and legal standards.

Insurance Companies:

Considerable volumes of content generated by global insurance firms is financial. As well as customer information, including marketing and support materials, there are many complex financial documents that may need to be shared with international subsidiaries, as well as local governments and regulatory agencies.

Investment Firms and Mergers & Acquisition Companies:

Any company that takes part in due diligence as part of the mergers and acquisition (M&A) process, understands translating and sharing with all relevant parties is an important step. These documents, often shared in a data vault, need to be understood by all parties that take part in debt negotiations, mergers, acquisitions or capital raise — especially if one or more of the entities speak another language. Due to the number of people that will review content, from legal professionals, financiers, corporate executives and deal-makers, the content must be available in source languages as well as the languages of those reviewing the content. Quite often on-site interpretation services are needed for M&A meetings and negotiations.

Tax & Legal Advisors and Consultants:

When trading internationally, the majority of multinational companies transfer goods from one division to another, as opposed to between different organisations. Transfer Pricing concerns the rules surrounding the pricing of these goods in different countries and markets. This is a major concern for tax advisors, departments, or consultants to ensure that organizations comply with local tax compliance, regulations, and enforcement. Transfer pricing documentation is also often required to be submitted in the country’s local language and requires highly accurate translations. If not, it can have a significant impact on a company’s overall financial health and could lead to penalties and suspicion of fraud.

Non-financial organizations:

Public and private companies have to produce a number of financial documents on a regular basis to distribute to investors, shareholders, and government agencies. Content ranges from company reports, annual and interim statements, contracts, tax, and auditing documents which when trading internationally will all require translation into the local language.

Relevant experience and expertise that speaks to the complexities and regulatory requirements for these types of businesses is crucial for successful globalization and localization in the financial services industry. One zero out of place in a translated annual report could seriously misrepresent the performance and damage the credibility of an organization.

The financial services industry needs to translate content for international clients or regulatory bodies. Download our white paper, Internationalization Strategy Behind Financial Documents, to learn about local legal and regulatory requirements, including which financial documents may need to be translated into the language of the foreign market.

To find out more about Welocalize’s Financial Services, connect with us here.