Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56535
Ready or Not, Here Comes IFRS B by Sharon Shinn usiness professors always want to prepare students to work in the corporation of the future, but rarely have they been so focused on a particular date. In this case, the date is 2014, and it's accounting professors specifi- cally who have circled that year in red. If, as expected, the Securi- ties and Exchange Commission decides U.S. companies should switch from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), 2014 is the year when compa- nies would be required to fol- low the new standards. At that time, business school gradu- ates and professionals in the workplace would need to understand the differences between the two systems—and how those international standards work. While U.S. business schools are already considering how to incorporate IFRS into the curriculum, most of them aren't yet ready to teach the new standards. According to more than 500 professors surveyed last fall by the American Accounting Association and KPMG LLP, 62 percent have not taken any significant actions to incorporate IFRS into their programs. Thirty percent of survey respondents expect the class of 2011 to be the first one to have a substantial grounding in IFRS education. That means there's a lot of ground still to cover in the next five years. Fortunately, a great deal of help is available. 44 BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2009 As U.S. businesses prepare to adopt international financial reporting standards, American business schools consider how to incorporate the new requirements into the curriculum.