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Index A
- a
- a- (1)
- a- (2)
- AB
- ab-
- abbreviations: acronyms and initialisms
- abbreviations: ampersand
- abbreviations: business terms and symbols
- abbreviations: capitals and hyphens
- abbreviations: corporate names
- abbreviations: days and months
- abbreviations: degrees and distinctions
- abbreviations: general guidelines
- abbreviations: geographical names
- abbreviations: imperial system
- abbreviations: International System of Units (SI)
- abbreviations: latitude and longitude
- abbreviations: military abbreviations
- abbreviations: monetary units
- abbreviations: netspeak
- abbreviations: number symbols
- abbreviations: parts of a book or document
- abbreviations: periods
- abbreviations: plurals
- abbreviations: scientific and technical terms
- abbreviations: time zones
- abbreviations: titles with personal names
- abeyance
- abide
- abide by
- about
- above-mentioned
- abreast
- absolutely essential
- absolute phrases
- abstain
- abstain from
- abstain in
- abstain on
- accede to
- accordance
- according to
- according to our records
- accord (of one’s own)
- accountable for
- accountable to
- accuracy
- accurate
- acquiesce in
- acquiesce to
- acquiesce with
- action verbs
- active voice
- act on
- act upon
- acu-
- addresses: official languages
- addresses on envelopes and parcels (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- adequate amount of
- adequate number of
- adjective
- adjective clause
- adjective comparison
- ADT
- adverb clause
- adverb comparison
- adverbs
- adverse
- adverse to
- advice
- advise
- aero-
- a few
- affect
- Afghan
- afghani
- aforementioned
- Afro-
- after
- again
- ageing
- agenda
- agendas
- aggravate
- aging
- agreeable
- agree on
- agree to
- agree with
- agro-
- Alberta
- Albertan
- alliteration
- allo-
- all over again
- allow for
- allow to
- all ready
- all right
- all-time record
- all together
- allude
- allusion
- almost without exception
- along these lines
- already
- alright
- Alta.
- alternate(ly)
- alternative(ly)
- altogether
- alumna
- alumnus
- a.m.
- a mari usque ad mare
- ambi-
- American dollar (symbol) (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- Americo-
- amount
- an-
- an
- an abundance of
- analyse
- analyze
- and
- and/or
- and so as a result
- Anglo-
- Anglophone
- anniversary
- answer for
- answer to
- ante-
- anti-
- anticipate
- anxious about
- anxious at
- anxious for
- anxious to
- any
- apostrophe: contractions
- apostrophe: plurals
- apostrophe: possession
- apparent
- appear
- appositives
- appraise
- apprise
- approval of
- approval to
- approve
- approve of
- approximately
- approximately about
- apt
- aqua-
- aqui-
- Arabo-
- arch-
- Armeno-
- Armistice Day
- around (1)
- around (2)
- as a consequence of
- as a matter of fact
- as a result of
- as a result of the fact that
- ascend
- ascent
- as far as
- aspire after
- aspire to
- as regards
- assent
- associate to
- associate with
- as soon as
- assume
- assure
- AST
- asterisk at end of sentence
- astro-
- as well as
- Atlantic Daylight Time
- Atlantic provinces
- Atlantic Standard Time
- attention
- attentive
- attentiveness
- at that point in time
- at the present time
- at this point in time
- at variance among
- at variance with
- audit and derived terms (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- Austro-
- authentic
- autumn
- auxiliary verbs
- avenge
- averse to
- avocation
- awards
- aware of
- Azerbaijani
- Azeri
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audit and derived terms (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
[The same content is available in French in the article AUDIT ET TERMES DÉRIVÉS (RECOMMANDATION LINGUISTIQUE DU BUREAU DE LA TRADUCTION).]
Background
In Canada, the French term audit in the field of accounting has long been considered an anglicism that should be replaced with vérification. However, following the adoption of the International Standards on Auditing, the situation has changed. The establishment of these standards has led to the adoption of common terminology, first in English-speaking countries, and then in French-speaking countries.
When the International Standards on Auditing were being translated, a committee of experts made up of chartered accountants and members of the Language Services of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants was formed to standardize the terminology used in the Francophonie. The committee used a list of key words established by France’s Compagnie nationale des commissaires aux comptes and Belgium’s Institut des Réviseurs d’Entreprises as its starting point. This list was the result of numerous compromises following international consultations. For diverse reasons, the committee decided in favour of the term audit and its derived forms.
French equivalent of audit
The Translation Bureau recommends using the masculine noun audit (the final "t" is pronounced) as the French equivalent of the English word audit in the field of accounting.
This equivalent has been adopted by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec. It has also been used in the translation of the International Standards on Auditing and is listed in Louis Ménard’s Dictionnaire de la comptabilité et de la gestion financière.
Audit and derived forms
The Translation Bureau recommends using the following terms:
| French terms | English terms | Definitions |
|---|---|---|
| audit (n.m.) | audit (n.) | An examination of the accounting records of an entity for the purpose of determining whether they adequately reflect its financial situation. |
| auditeur (n.m.) auditrice (n.f.) | auditor (n.) | A person who conducts an audit. |
| auditer (v.) | audit (v.) | Conduct an audit. |
Additional information
See the article "De la vérification à l’audit" by Cathryn Arnold and Vincent Halde in Language Update 9, no. 1 (2012): 10 [republished in Chroniques de langue].
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