Which document are you translating?
Three German words get mixed up all the time. The Geschäftsbericht (annual report) is the publication. The Jahresabschluss (annual financial statements) and the Lagebericht (management report) are the parts the law requires. The word Geschäftsbericht does not appear in the German Commercial Code (HGB) at all.
| German | What it is | Legal basis | Usual English term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geschäftsbericht | the publication on the past financial year: the mandatory parts plus voluntary ones such as the letter to shareholders or a magazine section | not a legal term | annual report |
| Jahresabschluss | balance sheet and income statement; for corporations, with notes | Section 242 and Section 264 HGB | annual financial statements |
| Konzernabschluss | consolidated balance sheet, income statement and notes, statement of cash flows and statement of changes in equity; under IFRS for listed parent companies | Section 297 and Section 315e HGB | consolidated financial statements |
| Lagebericht | business performance, position and expected development, with the main opportunities and risks | Section 289 HGB, for groups Section 315 HGB | management report, group management report |
| Jahresfinanzbericht | what a domestic issuer of securities has to publish: among other things the financial statements, the management report and the responsibility statement | Section 114 WpHG | annual financial report |
The statutory filing is in German: corporations disclose their financial statements and management report in German (Section 325(1) HGB). The English version is written for the capital market, and in the Prime Standard the stock exchange requires it.
When an English version is required
For companies in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Exchange Rules (BörsO FWB) require English alongside German for the main financial reports. These are additional obligations of the Prime Standard; outside it, they do not apply, and the question becomes what your investors expect.
| Document | Deadline | Language | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual financial report | four months after the end of the financial year | German and English, same deadline | Section 51 BörsO FWB, Section 114 WpHG |
| Half-year financial report | three months after the end of the half-year | German and English | Section 52 BörsO FWB, Section 115 WpHG |
| Quarterly statement (first and third quarter) | two months after the end of the quarter | German and English | Section 53 BörsO FWB |
| Financial calendar | at the start of each financial year, then kept up to date | German and English | Section 54 BörsO FWB |
| Ad hoc announcement | without delay | in English at the same time | Section 56 BörsO FWB, Article 17 MAR |
As of October 2026. This overview is not legal advice: we translate and edit, we do not advise on law. Your legal department can tell you which obligations apply to your company. The 2027 dates are set out in our checklist Reporting season 2027.
HGB and IFRS terms: where translations go wrong
A listed German group prepares its consolidated financial statements under IFRS (Section 315e HGB), while the parent company’s own annual financial statements follow the HGB. That puts two sets of English terms into one report. The official English translation of the HGB published by the Federal Ministry of Justice calls the Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung the profit and loss account. IFRS calls the same statement the statement of profit or loss. Many readers know it as the income statement.
IFRS leaves the choice of title to the company. IAS 1 lists the statement of financial position and the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, and adds in paragraph 10 that “an entity may use titles for the statements other than those used in this Standard”. So both balance sheet and statement of financial position are fine, as long as the report does not switch between them. Whatever your company chose last year is the right term this year.
| German | Official English translation of the HGB | IFRS (IAS 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Bilanz | balance sheet | statement of financial position |
| Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung (GuV) | profit and loss account | statement of profit or loss |
| Anhang | notes | notes |
| Kapitalflussrechnung | statement of cash flows | statement of cash flows |
| Eigenkapitalspiegel | statement of changes in equity | statement of changes in equity |
| Konzernabschluss | consolidated financial statements | consolidated financial statements |
One change is coming. The IASB has issued IFRS 18, which replaces IAS 1 for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027 and requires two new subtotals in the statement of profit or loss: operating profit and profit before financing and income taxes. In the EU, IFRS standards apply once they have been endorsed.
Terms that look simple and are not
| German | Common English | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Rückstellungen | provisions | not reserves. Kapitalrücklage and Gewinnrücklagen are part of equity: capital reserve and retained earnings in the HGB translation. |
| Umsatzerlöse | revenue | Sales is common in presentations. Pick one term and use it in the report and the presentation. |
| Konzern | group | not concern |
| Vorstand | Management Board, Executive Board or Board of Management | The official AktG translation says management board. Your company’s own usage wins. |
| Aufsichtsrat | Supervisory Board | not board of directors; the German two-tier system has no single board |
| Hauptversammlung | Annual General Meeting (AGM) | The official AktG translation says general meeting. |
| Bestätigungsvermerk | independent auditor’s report | The HGB translation says audit report. Use the title your auditor uses. |
| Versicherung der gesetzlichen Vertreter (Bilanzeid) | responsibility statement | part of the annual financial report under Section 114 WpHG |
| Geschäftsjahr | financial year (British), fiscal year (American) | follows the variety of English you chose |
More German and English pairs, with definitions, are in our glossary.
Tone: where the report has to persuade
The financial statements and the notes are translated completely and exactly, in line with last year’s report. The letter to shareholders, the strategy chapter and a magazine section are different. They are meant to convince, and a word-for-word version loses that.
German corporate prose likes nouns. Take „Die Realisierung von Effizienzsteigerungen erfolgte im Rahmen der Umsetzung unseres Transformationsprogramms.“ Word for word, that becomes “The realization of efficiency increases took place within the framework of the implementation of our transformation program.” Correct, and nobody reads past it. In English: “Our transformation program delivered efficiency gains.”
Texts like these need a writer whose first language is English and who understands the numbers behind the sentence.
How the work is organized
Scope. Agree which documents need English and which parts are translated or rewritten.
Terminology first. Last year’s report, your termbase, new segments, KPIs and programs, the English names of your boards: settled before the first chapter arrives.
Chapters in batches. Hand over each chapter once it is approved, with later changes marked.
Review rounds. Decide who checks the English for finance, legal and IR, and by when.
Figures check. Compare tables and text with the German original after every change to the numbers.
Layout check. Read the English version as typeset before it goes out.
Follow-up documents. Carry the terminology over to the quarterly statements, the AGM invitation and the half-year report.
The 2027 deadlines and a step-by-step checklist are in Reporting season 2027: schedule. If your report includes a sustainability statement, see our guide to translating a CSRD sustainability statement.
Questions to ask a translation provider
Whoever you work with, ask these questions before the work starts:
Who translates, who edits, and are they native speakers of English?
Do they know HGB and IFRS terminology, and the ESRS terms for the sustainability statement?
How do they keep this year’s terms consistent with last year’s report and with your presentations?
Will the same team work on the annual report, the sustainability statement and the follow-up documents?
Who rewrites the letter to shareholders and the magazine section? That is copywriting, and it needs copywriters.
How do they handle changes made after the German text was approved, including evenings and weekends close to the deadline?
How is unpublished information transferred and protected, and who sees it? An insider list under Article 18 MAR can include people outside the company, such as advisers, who have access to inside information.
Do they use machine translation or AI tools, and if so, where does your text go?
Can they check the English version in the typeset layout?
You can usually do without a certified translation. A beglaubigte Übersetzung carries a statement by a translator authorized under German state law that it is accurate and complete (Section 142(3) ZPO). Courts and registries ask for it. The Prime Standard rules above do not.
About BMP
Annual reports are part of our IR/PR work. Under investor relations, our client list includes Allianz, Audi, CVC Capital Partners, Daimler, Deutsche Bank, Gerresheimer, Grohe, HOCHTIEF, Infineon, KKR, Klöckner & Co, ProSiebenSat.1, Vaillant Group and Volkswagen. Our clients have won a series of awards with our texts, among them awards for annual reports, for example for Gerresheimer and HOCHTIEF.
“I enjoy nothing more than a healthy bottom line—especially when the text adds up, too. BMP brings our message home to analysts and shareholders in true style every time.”
How we work on annual reports is described under Annual report translation. The full client list is in our Showcase.
Frequently asked questions
In the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, yes: the Exchange Rules require the annual financial report in German and English within four months of the end of the financial year (Section 51(2) BörsO FWB). The statutory filing under the HGB is in German. Outside the Prime Standard, check which rules apply to your listing.
The Geschäftsbericht (annual report) is the publication as a whole. The Jahresabschluss (annual financial statements) is the balance sheet and income statement, for corporations with notes. The Lagebericht (management report) describes business performance, position and expected development. The last two are required by the HGB; the annual report is the package around them.
Both. IAS 1 uses statement of financial position but allows companies to use other titles, and the official English translation of the HGB says balance sheet. What matters is that your report uses one term throughout and keeps it from year to year.
Not under the rules discussed here. A certified translation carries a statement by a translator authorized under German state law that it is accurate and complete (Section 142(3) ZPO). Courts and registries ask for that. The English annual report is read by investors and analysts.
The financial statements, notes and most of the management report are translated, completely and exactly. The letter to shareholders, the strategy section and any magazine part are better rewritten in English, so that they persuade as much as the German version does.
Terminology first, before the first chapter is finished. The text follows chapter by chapter as approved German chapters become available, alongside the German version rather than after it.