Investigating the discourse of financial reporting: communicative strategies and translation problems

This book aims to investigate the genre, and the discourse, of financial reporting. Even though the subject has already been studied in the past decades with interesting results in terms of linguistic perspective, this study is intended to add contribution to highlight the importance of some communicative strategies, interpretation and translation issues. To do so, this work is divided into three main sections, that represent the research questions underlying this work. A first aspect is fundamentally linked to genre analysis. An investigation will be carried out to detect the possible hybridization and contamination of the textual genre of Annual Reports with other genres and discourses. The second aspect is linked to the description and study of communication strategies that are intimately connected to the evolution of the textual genre of Annual Reports. An analysis will be conducted on the communicative potential of financial reporting documents, the communication strategies adopted and their effectiveness. In particular, this study will try to highlight what are the effects of the hybridization/contamination on the genre, in terms of de-specialization of financial discourse. A third aspect dealt with in this work is related to the translation of specific terms related to financial reporting documents. The drafting of the Financial Statements is linked to both national and supranational regulations. The attempt to harmonize national and international accounting standards sometimes leaves areas of shadow in interpretative terms, which often generate difficulties in translating and rendering underlying concepts. Not surprisingly, this effort to harmonize accountancy practices around the world, relies also on the process of translation. Finding a functional and unambiguous translation to codify single concepts means taking sound steps in terms of understandability, reliability and readability of the Financial Statements. Scholars are striving to find a common path to help make international accounting communication intelligible to the business community.