Financial translation is often described as a constantly evolving field, shaped by ongoing changes in global markets and economic structures. In this dynamic context, the discipline must adapt to new economic, regulatory and technological realities. This study presents a comparative analysis of financial sectors covered in academic publications on financial translation. A bibliographic corpus was compiled from two databases: Bibliography of Interpreting and Translation (BITRA), which represents Western research, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database (CNKI), which represents Chinese scholarship. The final sample comprises articles and book chapters published between 2001 and 2020 by scholars affiliated with institutions in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Abstracts not originally written in English were automatically translated to ensure consistency. The study identified sector-specific keywords in the abstracts in order to classify the publications by economic and financial domain. The results were analysed from three perspectives: chronological (year of publication), geographical (author affiliation) and professional (alignment with the sectoral focuses highlighted by practising translators, such as banking, insurance and securities). The findings reveal that research across all three continents commonly focuses on sectors such as foreign trade and corporate communication, especially in China. European research shows a distinct focus on accounting and financial institutions. However, areas prioritised by professionals, such as fintech and taxation, remain underrepresented. Additionally, a significant proportion of the abstracts refer only to general domains (e.g. business or finance) without specifying a particular financial sector. Overall, the study identifies convergences and divergences between academic research and professional practice, as well as regional variations. This contributes to a broader understanding of how financial translation is conceptualised and developed in different parts of the world.