Apart from having both epistemic and root meanings, some English modal verbs can occur in completely non-modal functions. Particularly the modal verb will/would conveys the modal meanings of predictionprediction and volition, along with its role as a future time auxiliary. However, clear separation of these two functions of the polyfunctional verb is often impossible. Compared with English, the auxiliary in Czech analytic future tense verb phrases, the verb bud- (i.e. future forms of být [be]) is considered as non-modal, expressing mere futurity. However, the absence of a modal verb conveying prediction and volition in Czech and less explicit compensation by other means suggests that bud- might perform similar modal functions. The assumption is supported by the findings of corpus analysis of similarly construed corpora of corporate annual reports, which reveal a striking disproportion between English and Czech epistemic modals. Given that other modal means are comparably represented, this disproportion implies that the modal function of the Czech future auxiliary and of the English futurity verb will needs to be revisited. The text argues that their tentative inclusion as means of (mostly) epistemic modality, despite frequent dubious or double interpretation, provides a more realistic picture of epistemic modality.