RR

small"). This apparent lack of direct equivalence of expressions in the two languages suggests that there may be a lack of equivalence in the underlying concepts. [Insert Table 1 here]

There is also some lack of consistency in the tranaTatfon to German with multiple expressions used to translate four of the English expressions. For example, the expression "likely" is translated as both"voraussichtlich" and"wahrscheinlich." This inconsistency could be attributed to two possible causes. One, the translators felt that these two German words convey similar meaning and may be used interchangeably. Two, one German expression was deemed to be more appropriate than the other within the context in which it was being used. It is possible that"voraussichtlich" and"wahrscheinlich" convey subtle differences in probability or degree of consensus that are lost by using the single term"lıkely."

Two different English expressions are translated into the same German word in two situations."Likely" and"expected" are both translated as"voraussichtlich," and"likely" and "probable" are both translated as"wahrscheinlich." The interchangeability of these expressions suggests that the German translators believe that the English terms"likely,""expected," and "probable" have similar meaning, which indeed may be true.

The translation problems noted above suggests a possible source other than language­culture that could lead to differences in perceptions of IAS uncertainty expression between U.5. and German accountants, namely that translation into another language distorts the underlying meaning that the IASC wished to convey in the original English. For example, German WPs' perception of"Wahrscheinlichkeit äußerst gering" could differ from U.S. CPAs' perceptions of

"remote" because the two expressions simply are not equivalent. Therefore, there are two