French to English: Annual Reports, Part 3

This is my final instalment on French to English terms  used in company annual reports.

I said in an earlier blog that I've read a few good annual reports in my lifetime but there's one that stands out.  Call me biased.  My favorite one so far is that of Johnson & Johnson. 

(image courtesy of www.Wikipedia.org)

My late father used to work for J&J and he'd bring home the annual report every year.  I remember that one evening  vividly.  He opened his brief case, took out his pharmaceutical notes and put the annual report on his night table.  I picked it up absentmindedly, interested only in the glossy photos.   (I was in my early 20s then and could hardly call myself an annual report reader).  I was just going to leaf through the pages and then put it back on my father's night stand right away.  He always read company stuff before retiring for the evening. 

What happened was I ended up reading the J&J annual report cover to cover. 

It was their Credo that hooked my attention.  They used the English language in its "mostest simplicity." Simple words that conveyed strong beliefs - and honesty. 

The J&J Credo states that the company's primary responsibility is to the doctors, nurses and to the men and women who use the company's products.  Their final responsibility is to the shareholders.  It wasn't long-winded.  It was direct.  It was eloquent. 

Two and a half decades later, I am happy to know that the J&J Credo has not changed.  My father would have been pleased as well.  Robert Wood Johnson drafted the Credo in 1943 before the company went public.  You can view the video and read the text here:  http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/jnj-credo/.

Let's tackle those terms now:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
ratio de la marge d'exploitation	net profit ratio
principes comptables généralement reconnus (PCGR)	generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
système de mesure des indicateurs de rendement (SMIR)	key performance indicators measurement system (KPIMS)
carnet de commandes	order backlog
nombre d'actions ordinaires	number of common shares
ratio de la dette rajustée	adjusted debt ratio
gestion des risques	risk management
structure du capital	capital structure
cotes de crédit	credit ratings
instruments financiers dérivés	derivative financial instruments

My last six blogs were on legalese and annual reports.  I think it's time to shift gears and look at those terms that both men and women like to treat themselves to, purse strings permitting:  the SPA! 

Come visit and get a terminology massage treat!

French to English: Annual Reports, Part 2

I get amused with one phrase that 99% of annual reports have:  "forward-looking statements" (énoncés prospectifs in French).

The way I understand it, forward-looking statements are, in a nutshell, predictions of future performance.  United States law stipulates that forward-looking statements cannot be considered as facts; rather they must be predictions or "readings" into future possibilities.  To ensure that such predictions are not taken as absolute, words like "believe", "estimate", "may", "should", "expect", "could" and others are used. 

For the sake of investors, companies need to make forward-looking statements so that investors don't withdraw their investments and go with the competition.  After all, investors are in it for the money.  They want the assurance that the company has bright prospects and that it will continue to be profitable.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
excédent brut d"exploitation	EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization)
rentrée de fonds	cash flow
valeur comptable	book value
total de l'actif (or actif total)	total assets
biens immobiliers et éequipement	property and equipment
billet portant intérêt	interest-bearing note
avoir des actionnaires	shareholders' equity
capitalisation boursière	market capitalization

Respect for the environment has sent companies scrambling for ways to save paper and to reduce waste.  Companies now offer investors and other interested parties to view annual reports and balance sheets online.  You may have also received notices from your brokers or investment managers asking if you still wish to receive statements and reports, and how often you want to receive them.

Preparing annual reports is a long process.  Because it is a more formal method of communicating with people outside the company, preparing it demands time, money and resources.  For serious investors, it is a document they look forward to receiving once a year.  It is one way they keep tabs on the company and how much it made in any given quarter. 

There's probably two disadvantages to annual reports:  one, it gives competitors the information they need for purposes of strategy, and two, companies who suffered setbacks in the year just ended still have to produce an annual report.  Thank the securities regulators for that requirement.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
produit de la vente	sales proceeds
rendement du capital investi (RCI)	return on investment (ROI)
action à vote multiple	multiple voting shares
action à droit de vote subalterne	subordinate voting share
dividendes	dividends
immobilisations	capital assets
revenu net	net income
gouvernance d'entreprise	corporate governance

Writing annual reports can be a lucrative source of income for freelance writers.  Writers charge per hour or per project.  Hourly rates go from $40.00 (low end) to $150.00 (high end).  As for projects, fees can range from $2,500.00-$3,000 (low end) to $15,000 (high end).  Of course companies will easily find writers who charge in the mid range.

And how much can translators make to translate an annual report?  A few will charge a fixed project fee, many charge on a per word basis (from $0.08 to 0.35 - low to high).

Not bad!

French to English: Annual Reports, Part 1

If you're a shareholder of a company, you regularly receive the financial statements and annual reports without the need to request for them.  And if you're not a shareholder but are interested in knowing how a company performed in the last year because you're thinking of investing, you call their Investor Relations Department and request financial reports.  Or you can consult an independent financial analyst like Hoover's or Bloomberg's (your broker is also a possible source) and read what they have to say about the company's financial health.  Many companies also post their annual reports on their web site.  In official bilingual countries like Canada, companies publish their annual reports in both French and English.

 

FRENCH	ENGLISH
rapport annuel	annual report
profil de la société	corporate profile
compte de résultats consolidé	consolidated income statement

How many of you read the annual reports that arrive in the mail?  Those who have a keen interest in the company's performance or who bought a significant number of shares would probably read the annual report from cover to cover; others would scan it without eyeballing the figures while others would simply tuck them away. 

For most people, however, annual reports are like legal documents (a.k.a. "boring").  They're standard compliance reports that companies must submit to securities regulators once a year. 

I've read very few annual reports over the years.  I read them not because I'm a numbers freak, but because they caught my attention.  Let's face it, how many annual reports are written in a very engaging manner with simple but effective English?  Even annual reports of creativity-oriented companies like advertising and marketing lack a certain something.

An annual report must go beyond the concept of financial reporting; it must tell a compelling story.  Readers should feel that they're reading a true story, not learning a foreign language.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
intégration des bénéfices non-répartis	consolidated retained earnings
revenus	revenues
gains nets	net earnings
bénéfice net par action	net earnings per share

The Annual Reports Library (http://www.zpub.com/sf/arl/arl-tips.html) say that annual reports contain 9 sections:  (a)  chairman's (or president's) message, (b)  sales and marketing, (c)   financial highlights, (d)  management discussion and analysis, (e) auditor's statement, (f) financial statements, (g) subsidiaries, brands and addresses, (h) directors and officers and (i) stock price.  Items (e) to (i) are required.  The Securities and Exchange Commission requires (d) and financial analysts, according to the Annual Reports Library, insist on item (i) - stock price.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
message du président du conseil d'administration	chairman's message
marketing et ventes	sales and marketing
points saillants	financial highlights
rapport de gestion	management discussion and analysis
déclaration du vérificateur	auditor statement
états financiers	financial statements
filiales, marques et adresses	subsidiaries, brands and addresses
directeurs et dirigeants	directors and officers
cours de l'action	stock price

More annual report terminology in my next blog!