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Spanish to English translations [PRO] Bus/Financial - Finance (general) / Bank Guaranty Software
Spanish term or phrase:día contable
I’m translating a document from Spain into US English. This term appears a few times throughout the document. As far as I can make out, it should be omitted as a redundancy in the English. The authors style is, let’s just say, quite ambiguous at times... but the only references I’m getting to “día contable” and “accounting day” refer to either “day-to-day accounting” or “accounting day”, as in the day a company would prepare all their tax and accounting documentation to submit to the tax office, neither of which would apply to my context.
What do you think? Should I omit it as a redundancy?
Here’s one such appearance of the term (“operación” is “transaction” here):
"Retrocesión de operaciones
Se habla de retrocesión de una operación cuando ésta se da de baja en el sistema en un día contable posterior al que fue dada de alta.
No se permite retroceder una operación que fue realizada por caja.
Explanation: Creo que la palabra contable es una redundancia, debido a que la contabilidad debe llevarse día a día. Es decir registrar cada movimiento con la fecha que ocurre.
Considering I’m well into a 40k-word document, written by someone who is so unbelievably inconsistent, and intent on using completely different terms to mean the same thing; I’m pretty sure I´m going to omit ‘contable’ as a redundancy, based on how little evidence there is out there to confirm the term in English.
Thanks a lot for your help everyone, I really appreciate your valuable time.
Saludos! ;-)
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
11 mins confidence:
reporting day
Explanation: If it's the day when the company has to submit their financial statements, then I'd call it the reporting day.
Lisa Ritchie Local time: 08:50 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks Lisa, unfortunately it doesn't refer to this day, that's what I meant with "neither of which would apply to my context" above. Thanks anyway :-)
Explanation: Could this notion be useful in te context of your document?
"'Actual resident day' means a billable, countable day as defined by the commissioner".
Also in the other example sentences below (all from US documents).
Example sentence(s):
"The rates requested in the rate filing shall become final and no longer subject to refund if the Municipality has not taken final action within one hundred eighty (180) countable days of the date of filing"
"Foreign nationals who were not physically present in the United States on January 1 (or January 1 was not a countable day) of the calendar year in which they became a resident alien must submit a dual status return..."
Frensp Local time: 02:50 Native speaker of: French PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks so much for you help here Frensp! This is potentially the best option, in my view. But the fact that it only has 412 direct hits, doesn't exactly inspire me... I appreciate your help and time ;-)
Explanation: Creo que la palabra contable es una redundancia, debido a que la contabilidad debe llevarse día a día. Es decir registrar cada movimiento con la fecha que ocurre.
Leonardo Lamarche Venezuela Local time: 02:20 Specializes in field Native speaker of: Spanish PRO pts in category: 90
Grading comment
Thanks.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Gracias, leonarda, sí, parece una redundancia. Saludos ;-)
Explanation: This is a common expression, nothing strange about it.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 4 horas (2010-08-08 17:47:50 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Don't see why not myself.
Tatty Spain Local time: 08:50 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 28
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks Tatty, it may be a common expression, but it certainly doesn't fit my context! Going on the Google hits, that is: http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&ned&tab=nw#hl=en&source=hp&q=%22accounting+day%22&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=g-c1g2g-c1g2g-m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=8631cdd35a4d476d
Asker: Well, if you do a Google search for "accounting day", practically all results refer to "International Accounting Day", which is Not what my context is about... And that is specifically why I cannot use this term, because it would not be correct. I haven't been able to find one single reference that suggests the use of "accounting day", as "día contable" is used in my context.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2010-08-08 14:50:54 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Or another idea could be Business Day
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 4 hrs (2010-08-08 18:04:54 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I agree that is ambiguous but I think that in this sense "contable" means "countable" from a business point of view. I also agree they should be shot!!!!!!(I mean, what on earth was wrong with "laborable"??)
kittilina Spain Local time: 08:50 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 44
Notes to answerer
Asker: Cheers Kittilina. I agree this would be a good option, however, it doesn't say "día laborable", "día de trabajo", or "día hábil" in the original, which is the Spanish I know for "working day". This translation is riddled with ambiguity though, and quite frankly, the author should be shot! ;-)
The translation workplace 
