foreign currency translation
Foreign currency translation
Foreign Currency Translation
foreign currency translation
foreign currency translation
the process of denoting the assets and liabilities of a MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE'S foreign subsidiary's BALANCE SHEET and the revenues and expenses of the subsidiary's PROFIT-AND-LOSS ACCOUNT, which are expressed in terms of the subsidiary's local currency by translating them into the parent company's domestic currency. This is done in order to prepare CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS for the group.There are two main currency translation methods:
- the closing rate, or net investment method, or all-current method, in which all foreign currency items are translated at the EXCHANGE RATE ruling at the date of the balance sheet. With the closing rate method any gains or losses on exchange arising from translation are taken direct to the group balance sheet an dealt with as changes in RESERVES so as not to affect reported PROFIT.
- temporal method or current/non-current method, in which fixed assets and long-term liabilities are translated at the exchange rate ruling at the date of their acquisition, and revenues and expenses at an average exchange rate for the year. With the temporal method any differences arising on translation are taken to the profit-and-loss account where they serve to affect recorded profit.