Lindsay Gasser

World-class linguist – interpreter, translator. Oxford graduate and MBA. Twenty-five years of software and business experience, focussing on international accounting and business practices.

Now seeking translation (including system translation), interpretation, technical documentation work on a freelance basis.
Mother tongue – UK English
Fluent – German, French, US English
Good – Dutch
Needs refreshing – Spanish (European), Spanish (Argentinean)

In-depth knowledge of:
- accounting and book-keeping
- business and accounting software
- general business practices (invoicing, procurement, inventory management, customer relations management)
- management reporting
- currency management

Contact details:
lindsaygasser@theREALlindsaygasser.com
+1 809 609 3699 (cellphone)

Qualifications

1972 (UK)
A-levels – French, German, Spanish – Grade A
S-levels – French, German – Grade 1

1976 (UK, Germany)
BA Oxford University – German and French
I spent one year in Worms, Germany as a language assistant in a Gymnasium school. I also taught evening classes in English during this year. During my final year I did some freelance translation of credit reports on European companies.

1977 (UK)
Diploma in Applied Language Studies (Translation and Interpreting), Bath University. Included one month “stages” at CERN, Geneva and European Parliament, Luxembourg.

1981-1982 (UK, US)
MBA degree, full-time at Cranfield School of Management. Included one quarter as an exchange student at University of Washington in Seattle.

Employment

1977-1981 (Belgium)
Staff interpreter at EC Commission, Brussels with French and German. Passed Concours at first attempt. Learned Dutch during this time, worked officially from Dutch during last year. Mainly simultaneous, some chuchotage, occasionally consecutive.

1983-1984 (UK)
Pre- and post-sales consultant for small software vendor in central London, choosing accounting software to sell, implementing and supporting customers.

1984-2002 (UK, France, Germany)
Worked for Systems Union, author of SunSystems (SunAccount). Roles included:
- writing user documentation
- system design
- system translation
- managing and revising translation of user documentation
- training users – in French, German, Spanish and English
- enriching the systems to meet local requirements in multiple countries, particularly Germany, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Brazil

In 1991 I moved to Paris and helped to set up the SU French office. In 1993 I moved on to Frankfurt to help expand the new German office. In 1995 I returned to the UK and took on a broader remit as International Product Manager.

2002-2003 (UK)
Brief period working for Microsoft as an analyst on the ill-fated “Project Green” – a planned new financials and business system.

2003-2006 (UK)
I returned to Systems Union. Working on design of new financials and business system.

2006-present (UK)
Systems Union was acquired by a major US software house in August 2006. I am currently working for them – again on the design of a new financials system, due for release early 2009, on a very different technology.

All three designs have been aimed at global companies, so needing to incorporate support for different ways of doing business in different countries.

All my roles since 1991 have included
- preparing internal documentation of requirements
- writing system design documentation
- revising user glossary and documentation
I have worked extensively with the RUP development process.

Easter 2009 - present (Dominican Republic)
Freelance translation via internet. Live in the sun, work on the net! Time zone - summer ECT, winter Atlantic time.