At the World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) 2014 in Rome, the session “Translating International Standards and Guidance: Best Practices and Tools to Achieve Quality Translation” offered an opportunity to share best practices, technical tools, and IFAC® policies on translation. Interest in this session ran high and WCOA 2014 officials had to relocate it to accommodate a larger audience.
Chaired by Kelly Anerud, IFAC Deputy Director, Intellectual Property, it provided a comprehensive overview of resources and competencies required to achieve high-quality and widely accepted translations of international standards and related guidance.
In addition to the Chair’s presentation, “Translating International Standards and Guidance,” the session included presentations by Hilde Blomme, Deputy CEO of the Federation of European Accountants (FEE), who focused on the challenges of representing one region with many languages, by Javier Quintana, Secretary of the Ibero-American Cooperation Framework (IberAm Project) and CEO of the Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España, who discussed the experiences of the IberAm Project in working with several regions and numerous countries represented by one language; and by Mariarita Cafulli, Head of the Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabli Translation Department, who shared useful tools and resources, such as computer software, for translating international standards.
IFAC's Intellectual Property, Translations, & Permissions Department recently introduced the “IFAC Translator Forum,” a subgroup of IFAC’s LinkedIn group. The “IFAC Translator Forum,” which has nearly 100 members, is targeted to IFAC-designated translating body contacts and related stakeholders as a way to share best practices, collaborate, submit questions and offer responses on topics related to the translation of standards, handbooks, guides, and tools. To request membership, click “Join” and the request will be reviewed by the group manager. Membership in the IFAC LinkedIn group, which is open to all, is required to join the IFAC Translator Forum.
Following a meeting at WCOA 2014 between 10 organizations representing 30 Francophone nations, the French translating bodies are progressing in their efforts to produce a more formal structure for collaboration on high-quality French translations of international standards and other IFAC publications. Representatives from a subgroup of the French translating bodies will meet with IFAC in March to work on a draft cooperation framework and to prepare a preliminary Memorandum of Understanding.
In December, the IberAm Project published the authorized Spanish translation of IFAC’s Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs). IFAC officials called this a “milestone development” for the IberAm Project, as it represents the first document to have undergone the complete IberAm process, which includes translation, transfer to translation memory software, review, approval, formatting, and publication. The IberAm Project Memorandum of Understanding was signed on October 2, 2012, at IFAC’s New York offices with the goal of developing single, high-quality Spanish language translations of international standards and other IFAC publications.
The IberAm Project Executive Committee recently approved the final translation of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board® (IAASB®) 2013 Handbook of International Quality Control, Auditing, Review, Other Assurance, and Related Services Pronouncements, Volume I, and other documents, including publications from the IAASB, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants® (IESBA®), the Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) and Professional Accountancy Organization (PAO) Development committees, and a summary of IFAC Policy Position Papers 1-8. These translations will now proceed to be published in various formats over the coming months. Other documents, such as IAASB Exposure Drafts, IAASB video modules, Small and Medium Practices (SMP) guidance, toolkits from the PAO Development Committee, and publications from the PAIB Committee are in various stages of the IberAm process and will be published over the coming months.
IFAC’s Intellectual Property, Translations & Permissions department encourages stakeholders to utilize the recently launched Online Permission Request and Inquiry (OPRI) Management system, which is designed to streamline the process of submitting requests for reproduction, translation, and information. OPRI allows registered users to submit new requests by type (reproduction, translation of international standards, translation of other publications, or inquiry) as well as manage all their requests in one place, duplicate existing requests to save time when placing new ones, and view the status of pending requests.
IFAC is now using social media to update stakeholders on recently translated publications and resources, via IFAC’s @IFAC_Update handle on Twitter. Here are the latest translated publications:
- In Danish (FSR): International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000, (Revised), Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information;
- In Kazakh (MoF): Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements, 2014 Edition
- In Romanian (CFAR): IFAC SMP Quick Poll: 2013 Year-End Round-Up;
- In Slovak (SKAU): Guide to Quality Control for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices, Third Edition;
- In Ukrainian (AAU): Guide to Quality Control for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices, Third Edition;
- In Ukrainian (AchU): Handbook of International Quality Control, Auditing, Review, Other Assurance, and Related Services Pronouncements; 2013 Edition;
- In Bulgarian (ICPAB): Handbook of International Education Pronouncements, 2014 Edition; and
- In Arabic (IASCA): Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements, 2014 Edition
IFAC has recently revised and updated the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of the Intellectual Property, Translations & Permissions web page. This section includes 50 responses related to areas of interest such as IFAC’s relevant policies and processes, performing quality translations, the process for obtaining an agreement with IFAC to perform or reproduce translations, terminology used in translations, and use of IFAC logos, trademarks, and graphics. The FAQs are a useful resource for a range of stakeholders, including IFAC member bodies, national standard-setting bodies, adopting authorities, training providers, and commercial publishers.
IFAC’s Translations Database is adding new enhancements, including an improved search/sort function, publication title in the language of translation, and links from the translated publications to the original English-language documents. The publicly available Translations Database lists authorized translations of IFAC publications, including the international standards, and the ongoing enhancements are aimed at improving user-friendliness and expanding its search functionality. These new features are expected to be available during the second quarter of 2015.