A Client Document in Another Language: The Preparer's Check Before the Draft Uses It

Jane Doe uploads her documents for the file. A statement from Doe Bank is in Portuguese, not the language the Firm works in. Its amounts and dates sit among headings and labels the Preparer can't read with confidence.

In this method, until the Firm has a translation it accepts under its own policy, the Preparer keeps foreign language client documents out of the AI pass. The drafting pass then runs on the accepted translation, the Firm's instructions ask for each drafted figure to cite the original page, and the Preparer checks each cite by hand against both pages. The Reviewer sees which entries came from a translation.

The plugin drafts; the Firm's preparer prepares; the Reviewer signs off. Every step here is one the Firm writes and keeps, in whatever systems the Firm already uses, and the Firm can adapt the document-handling steps; the Reviewer's sign-off on the whole file stays as it is.

This piece gives a stop list, a language row layout, a page-pairing table, a client message, an instruction line, a marking table, a pre-review check and a Doe example.

Another language isn't a poor scan

In this method, a page the Preparer can't read because the scan is poor gets a clean copy or keying by hand, as in when a source page can't be read. A page in another language can be perfectly clear and still be held.

A clean copy doesn't help here; the page needs a translation the Firm accepts.

What stops the Preparer's pass, in this method

In this method, the file index notes the Firm's working language, and the Preparer's pass stops on a document when any of these is true:

• Its headings, labels or notes are in a language other than the Firm's working language.
• It mixes languages, so some labels beside figures aren't in the working language.
• The Preparer can't tell from the words on the page what a figure stands for.

Knowing a few words doesn't settle it. In this method, the Preparer doesn't guess at a label; the document stays held until a translation the Firm accepts comes in.

Holding it out of the drafting folder

In this method, the Preparer moves the original out of the drafting folder to the place the Firm's own step names, and records it on a language row. The Firm can add this layout to the file index it already keeps, as in setting up the client folder.

In this method, the Preparer keeps the original as it came in and doesn't write on it. The original stays the source each figure cites.

Getting a translation the Firm accepts

Who makes the translation, how it's made and what the Firm accepts are for the Firm's own policy to decide. In this method, the Preparer records the step followed on the language row, and the translation gets its own copy ID on the file index.

The Preparer then pairs pages, so each translation page sits beside the original page it comes from:

A translation can change how amounts and dates are written, such as which mark separates thousands from decimals, or whether the day or the month comes first. In this method, the Preparer copies them onto the pairing row as printed on the original, so the row shows what the source says.

In this method, the Preparer lets the client know. The Firm can adapt this message:

Hi Jane, thanks for the documents you sent. The statement from Doe Bank is in Portuguese, so we've set it aside while we get a translation our Firm can use. Do you already have a translation of it, or a version from Doe Bank in English? Either would help, and we'll take it from there. Thanks, Alex at the Firm

If the Firm's own policy calls for other wording, the Firm's wording wins.

A line for the Firm's AI instructions

In this method, the Firm adds a line, in its own words, to its instructions for the drafting pass that runs on the translation, as in writing AI instructions for tax documents. A version to adapt:

"Draft from [translation copy ID] only. Cite each figure to the original page listed beside it on the pairing table, not to the translation page."

The Preparer still checks each cite against the original page and the translation page, and sets the marks by hand.

Marking entries drafted from a translation

In this method, the Preparer marks by hand, in the entry's note, every entry drafted from a translation or from an original before it was held. The Firm can rename the marks.

In this method, marks stay on the entries for the Reviewer's decision.

When the translation and the original don't agree

In this method, the Preparer doesn't pick a side. If an amount, a date or a name on the translation doesn't match the original, the Preparer marks the entry “Language question”, notes what each page shows, and asks the person the Firm's own policy names for translations to look again.

The original stays the source the entry cites. If the answer changes the translation, the corrected translation gets its own copy ID and pairing rows, and the Preparer checks the entry again. The Reviewer sees the note and decides.

The pre-review check

In this method, the Preparer reads the file against this check before it goes to the Reviewer. The Firm can add its own lines.

• The drafting folder holds no original outside the Firm's working language.
• Each held original has a language row naming where it's held and the Firm step followed.
• Each translation in the drafting folder has its own copy ID and a pairing row for each page.
• Each entry drafted from a translation cites the original page.
• Entries drafted from a translation, or from an original before it was held, carry marks set by hand.
• Each “Language question” mark has a note for the Reviewer showing what each page says.
• The Firm's instructions hold a translation line for each translation an entry rests on.

Who checks and who decides

The Firm names people for the document-handling steps; the Reviewer decides on entries and signs off. People at the Firm do every step.

A mark tells the Reviewer where to look. It isn't a sign-off and doesn't stand in for one. The Reviewer sees every marked entry, language row and pairing row and decides what happens with each entry, and the Reviewer signs off on the whole file, language rows included. No file is done without the Reviewer's sign-off.

A Doe example

The names and file below are made up for illustration.

Jane Doe is a synthetic client of the Firm. Alex Doe is the Preparer and Pat Doe is the Reviewer. The Firm works in English.

Among Jane's documents, Alex finds a statement from Doe Bank in Portuguese. Alex stops on it, moves it to the place the Firm's step names and fills in a language row. No draft has run on the folder yet. Alex sends Jane the message.

Jane writes back with a translation of the statement. After the Firm accepts the translation under its own policy, Alex records the step and translation copy ID on the language row and file index, then pairs each translation page with its original.

Alex adds the translation line to the Firm's instructions, and the drafting pass runs on the translation. Alex checks each drafted figure against the original page and the translation page, and marks the entries “From translation, checked” by hand.

On a page of the statement, the translation shows a date with the day and the month swapped. Alex marks that entry “Language question”, notes the date as the original prints it and as the translation shows it, and asks the person the Firm's policy names to look again. After the Firm accepts the revision, Alex gives it its own copy ID and pairing rows and updates the translation line. Alex checks the entry again and notes what changed; the mark stays for Pat.

Alex runs the pre-review check and sends the file to Pat. Pat reviews the marked entries, the language row and the pairing rows, decides what happens with each entry, and signs off on the whole file.

Where TracePrep fits

We've built a TracePrep plugin that drafts these steps in your Firm's workflow, while your preparer decides and your Reviewer signs off. Join the waitlist and we'll tell you when plugin access opens.

Get on the list for plugin access

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. In TracePrep's workflow, the plugin drafts, the Firm's preparer prepares, and the Firm's Reviewer signs off. Access to the plugin is by waitlist. Keep client data inside the systems your Firm has approved.