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De hilo
ETDS
May 3, 2022 14:31
2 yrs ago
25 viewers *
Spanish term

deteriorado contra reservas

Spanish to English Bus/Financial Finance (general) Audit report
"Tal como se indica en la memoria adjunta, el grupo concedió .... un préstamo con vencimiento en el ejercicio 20--, con un saldo pendiente a dicha fecha de ------ euros, el cual, no ha sido cobrado a su vencimiento y la Compañía ha deteriorado contra reservas."

Is this an impairment against (their own) reserves? Thanks in advance!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 written off against reserves
5 -1 The Company's asset impairment was recorded as reserve impairment
3 write-/written-down (AmE: charge/d-off) against reserves

Discussion

Luis M. Sosa May 6, 2022:
A couple more write off debt: condonar la deuda; write-off: valor cancelado en libros.


IMF GLOSSARY WEB 2016: ENGLISH‐SPANISH
Francois Boye May 5, 2022:
So much detour to admit the evidence!
Meridy Lippoldt May 5, 2022:
P.S. Thomas West who is a reliable source for legal and business subject-matter defines deteriori as impairment in the accounting context. "An asset is impaired when its fair value is lower than its carrying amount." I don't think you can go wrong with your original hunch. I would use the word "impaired" in your translation.
Kaelne Koorn (asker) May 5, 2022:
Asker here! In this part, yes, it was the Parent Company that did not receive the money back from the loan it had given previously to another entity. I am clearly also not an accountant, so thank you all for your input!
AllegroTrans May 4, 2022:
written-off vs. written-down Could the Asker perhaps contribute here and tell us whether there is anything in the rest of the text that would help?
Luis M. Sosa May 4, 2022:
I'm taking things at face value here, I understand Adrian what you mean. There is no indication in the question that the context corresponds to commercial banking. It does seem -to me at least- that the audit report in question corresponds to some non-financial holding (/parent) company. As we know, holdings are softer when it comes to demanding payments from their affiliates; they have a wide range of strategic reasons to behave like that. Banks are much less paternalistic.
Meridy Lippoldt May 4, 2022:
Yes Luis I see your point. Thank you. Not being an accountant, I couldn't determine the proper term write off or down in the context given. My accounting textbook however gives a simple definition of the concept when it states that to write off is "canceling the balance of a customer account because the customer does not pay."That seems to fit the case here and I stand corrected!
Adrian MM. May 4, 2022:
written-off vs. -down @ Luis written off may have been in part, but the balance o/s could have been 'impaired' by exchange rate ('translation') differences, to wit : losses making the loan as an investment less valuable to the bank.
Luis M. Sosa May 4, 2022:
It's suggested that the loan wasn't fully collected due to the lack of collection actions/efforts/initiatives with respect to the outstanding balance. And afterwards they proceeded with the write-off.
Adrian MM. May 4, 2022:
write-off @ Phil G. It's deteriorado rather than amortizado : 'La cartera deteriorada comprende los créditos de los deudores sobre los cuales se tiene evidencia de que no *cumplirán con alguna de sus obligaciones en las condiciones de pago* en que se encuentran pactadas.. 'http://www.oas.org/juridico/spanish/mesicic3_chl_comp.pdf
philgoddard May 4, 2022:
The unpaid balance was written off, not down.
Meridy Lippoldt May 3, 2022:
I think "impairment" is a broad enough word to cover what is also referred to as a "write-down" on the balance sheet. I would go with "impairment."

Proposed translations

+1
1 hr
Selected

written off against reserves


Electrocomponents : Principal Accounting Policies
http://files.investis.com › reports › princip_accounting
Goodwill arising on acquisitions prior to 31 March 1998 has been written off against reserves. On disposal of a business, the gain or loss on disposal ...

Summary consolidated balance sheet - Stagecoach Group
https://m.stagecoachgroup.com › sar-2005 › cashflow
»113.8m (2004: »113.8m) that was written off against reserves in periods prior to the adoption of FRS10, ''Goodwill and Intangible Assets.''.


Summary consolidated balance sheet - Stagecoach Group
https://www.stagecoachgroup.com › sar-2003 › cashflow

was written off against reserves in periods prior to the adoption of FRS 10, ''Goodwill and Intangible Assets''. The holding company's.


FCE Bank plc - Ford Credit Europe
https://www.fcebank.com › Accounts_Part2_2003
PDF
31 Dec 2003 — Goodwill previously written off against reserves will be charged to the profit and loss account on the subsequent disposal of the business ...
Note from asker:
Yeah, it sounds like "impairment" or "write-off" are the most accurate ways to describe the situation here. Thanks!
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : Or "shown as an impairment," as the asker suggests.
1 hr
thanks
neutral Meridy Lippoldt : there is an important distinction to be made between writing off an asset as opposed to writing down one. s
4 hrs
thanks, true, but asker now says the loan could not be recovered. Surely this implies it was written off?
agree Luis M. Sosa : Not clear from the source, but -in this particular case- it seems that the company wrote-off the asset. Write-off is total, write-down is partial.
7 hrs
thanks
disagree Francois Boye : You don't use the technical concept of asset impairment
10 hrs
How technical must I be? Should I not use a standard term? Asker now says the loan could not be recovered. Surely this implies it was written off? Simple and straightforward
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
7 hrs
Spanish term (edited): deteriorar/ado contra reservas

write-/written-down (AmE: charge/d-off) against reserves

Cut to Luis M. S's answer in the first weblink and to Meridy L's comments.

I must admit I am unable to fathom how 'un préstamo con vencimiento en el ejercicio 20..' can be written(-) off and set against reserves at the same time. No need for our 'quick-thinking' accountants to explain.

BTW, an Anglo-Welsh Solicitor I used to work with - and had clocked up a distinction in English & Welsh company & commercial law - couldn't understand the UK tax trick of the Chairman's offer to me of a tax-free loan as salary in advance to be written off on successful completion of a probationary period.
Example sentence:

The amount a bank will ultimately recover from written-down or charged-off loans depends...

A charge-off is a banking term that is used to describe an account that has become 180 days past due.

Reference:

http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish-to-english/finance-general/6519920-deteriorar-activos.html

http://www.richmondfed.org/~/media/richmondfedorg/publications/research/economic_review/1991/pdf/er770402.pdf

Something went wrong...
-1
11 hrs

The Company's asset impairment was recorded as reserve impairment

Impairment can occur as the result of an unusual or one-time event, such as a change in legal or economic conditions, a change in consumer demand, or damage that impacts an asset.

Assets should be tested for impairment regularly to prevent overstatement on the balance sheet.

Impairment exists when an asset's fair value is less than its carrying value on the balance sheet.

If impairment is confirmed as a result of testing, an impairment loss should be recorded.

An impairment loss records an expense in the current period that appears on the income statement and simultaneously reduces the value of the impaired asset on the balance sheet.

Source: Investopedia
Peer comment(s):
disagree philgoddard : This doesn't make sense or merit a 5.
5 hrs
Do you understand what impairment means in accounting?
neutral AllegroTrans : Clumsy construction; it's usually a reserve impairment by definition and saying so is superfluous as well as not even being a normal accountancy term
9 hrs
Do you understand what impairment means in accounting?
neutral Luis M. Sosa : Neutral.
10 hrs
Carece de sentido.
Something went wrong...
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