Process Descriptions

1. Initial contact and introduction

Anyone interested in translating the IFRS taxonomy labels must contact the IASC Foundation Translation Project Manager or the IASC Foundation XBRL Fellow. They receive information on the current status for their language (if anyone else has begun a translation and when it is due), the advised translation process, the reference material available, the translation software that could make the process more efficient and guarantee consistency, and any other issue they need to clarify before they embark on a translation.

2. Form translation team, assign roles, decide schedule

The interested party will explore, in accordance with the IASC Foundation translation process, the resources needed to complete the translation project and assign roles to the members of the translation team. The participants to the process can then agree a schedule for all the tasks involved.

3. Sign agreement

Once the key players have been defined and the schedule agreed, the interested party is ready to enter into a formal agreement with the IASC Foundation and proceed with the translation of the labels. The main points of the agreement are that the IASC Foundation will own the rights to the resulting translation, which it will make freely available to the public, while the interested party will have unlimited perpetual use of those translations with no charges. If a government adopts XBRL as a reporting requirement, the IASC Foundation will waive copyright in the relevant taxonomy labels' translation within that country.

4. Receive translation resources from the IASC Foundation, where available

The IASC Foundation Translation Project Manager will forward to the Translation Coordinator:

• the Excel file containing the labels for translation,
• the Key Terms list for that language (a terminology list extracted from the existing IFRS translation and reviewed by a group of experts who review the IFRS translation in the relevant language),
• the existing IFRS translation in a format that will fit in with the resources used (software) for the labels' translation,
• the documentation describing the structure format of the taxonomy labels in English, so that their translation can follow the same structure.

5. Translate the IFRS taxonomy labels

The translators must make sure that they translate in a consistent manner (that when translating a term or concept, they use the same wording in their language throughout the Excel file), and that they retrieve as much as possible from the existing Key Terms list and existing IFRS translation files. Using different translations for the same words can result in confusion for all users of the Standards who also use the taxonomy labels. If applicable, the Translator uses translation software, and receives appropriate files from the IASC Foundation to make this task easier.

6. Review the IFRS taxonomy labels

When the draft translation is finished, the Coordinator forwards the file to the Reviewers for their comments. The Reviewers check for accuracy and consistency, and mark their comments in a separate column in the file for the translator to incorporate later. In the case of disagreement between Reviewers, the Coordinator intervenes to reach a final decision. When the review is finished, the Coordinator sends the marked-up file to the Translator to insert the comments and finalise the file. If the Translator believes that some of the Reviewers' comments contradict previously agreed IASC Foundation terminology or IFRS translations, the Coordinator intervenes and notifies the IASC Foundation, so that a solution can be found.

7. Send final draft to IASC Foundation to build label linkbase

The IASC Foundation XBRL Team receives the draft IFRS labels' translation, and builds a label linkbase.

8. IASC Foundation publishes draft linkbase on website for comment

The linkbase of the draft translation is published on the IASC Foundation XBRL website for comments. The exposure period is usually for a period of 2-3 months. All comments are sent to the IASC Foundation Translation Project Manager and are forwarded to the Coordinator, who evaluates them and decides if the Reviewers should be involved. Any comments which are approved by the Coordinator and/or the Reviewers are sent to the Translator to incorporate in the file, and the translation software files, if appropriate.

9. Finalise linkbase

The translated IFRS taxonomy labels are considered final, and the linkbase should receive no more revisions until there are changes in the English labels text. Future updates of the taxonomy labels should ideally use the same process and the same translation team, for optimum results.