The Scenario: 80-Page Annual Report, Due Friday
A Hong Kong-listed company. CFO on Friday — London investors needed the annual report in English by next Friday. 80 pages: merged-cell financial tables, audit opinions, footnotes, ESG disclosures.
What Makes Annual Report Translation Different
Three pitfalls: tables (merged cells, multi-column headers), footnotes (nested list format), and audit opinions (every word is legally weighted).
Results
| Dimension | Body Accuracy | Table Accuracy | Footnote Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI direct | 97% | 93% | 87% |
| AI + human review | 99.5% | 98% | 97% |
What Can Go Wrong
The yuan sign becomes "?" in some tools. Translating "重大缺陷" as "significant defects" versus "material weakness" — these carry different legal weight. Footnote numbering breaks after translation, making cross-references unusable.