Q1116. How to translate annual certified audit reports for regulatory submission?

Answered by the NYC Visa & Translation certified translation team

Annual audit reports for Thai regulatory submission are filed in Thai — the statutory financial statements and the auditor's report filed with the DBD and the Revenue Department are Thai documents signed by a Thai CPA — so the translation question is usually the reverse: translating the Thai audited statements into English for foreign parents, lenders, and regulators. The standards frame: Thai audits follow Thai Standards on Auditing (converged with ISA), and the auditor's report follows the ISA 700 series structure — the English translation must preserve the report's structure exactly: the opinion paragraph first (unmodified, qualified, adverse, disclaimer), the basis for opinion, key audit matters for listed entities, the going-concern and emphasis-of-matter paragraphs, and the other-information section. Translation rules that matter: the opinion type is the single most important element — a qualified opinion must be translated as qualified, with the qualification's subject exact; the auditor's name, licence number, and firm are transcribed as registered; and the financial statements attached are translated with all notes — the notes are integral to the statements, and regulators and lenders read them. For foreign audit reports coming into Thailand (parent company statements for BOI or bank filings), the foreign report is translated into Thai with its framework identified (ISA, US GAAS, or national standards) and its opinion structure preserved. Practice points: file the translation from the signed final version — draft translations create version confusion; and keep the prior years' translations for comparative consistency. Confirm the receiving body's requirements before commissioning.