IFRS making its way to U.S.; affordable resources available

By Donna Street and Agnes Cheng

The use of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) has become increasingly widespread throughout the world, with about 100 countries requiring or allowing the use of these standards, and the number continues to grow.

From 2005 onward, companies headquartered in the European Union (EU), with securities listed on an EU-regulated market, are required to report their consolidated financial statements using IFRS. Other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, have adopted similar requirements, and countries including Canada and Israel plan to adopt IFRS in the near future. Major emerging and transition economies such as China, Brazil, India and Russia are also adopting or considering IFRS, not U.S. GAAP, in an effort to become integrated in the world’s capital markets and to attract the investment needed to finance development.

Recent events in the U.S. suggest we may also soon join the critical mass of countries allowing or requiring the use of IFRS.

While the U.S. has not adopted IFRS for use by domestic companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission now permits non-U.S. registrants to report their financial statements under IFRS, amending a long-standing rule to require reconciliation from non-U.S. to U.S. GAAP. Even more significant, the SEC issued a 2007 concept release posing questions aimed at determining whether U.S. headquartered registrants should be given the option to report under IFRS. There are also rumblings that U.S. companies should eventually be required to use IFRS. Even FASB Chair Herz supports a single accounting standard and believes that it should be IFRS, not U.S. GAAP.

The message is clear Accounting academics should carefully consider our coverage of IFRS and incorporate more and more material into the accounting curriculum. Here are a few examples of affordable resources:

eIFRS

Provides you and your students access to all IFRS and other educational materials of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). While textbooks and IFRS books are quickly outdated, with eIFRS one is always up to date on the latest changes to IFRS and other developments. Academics especially like the hardcopy text, A Guide through IFRSs. Yes, the normal rate of 200 UK pounds (approximately $400 U.S.) for eIFRS may be problematic. However, you and your students can have access for only $25 and $20, respectively. All you need to do is access eIFRS through the Web site of the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER) using the members only link. Membership forms are available on the IAEER's Web site at www.iaaer.org.

IFRS e-learning

A comprehensive set of e-learning materials on IFRS. A total of 35 modules are included, one for each IAS / IFRS. After releasing the program internally, Deloitte decided to make it available to the public at large without charge, in the public interest. Free access is available at http://www.iasplus.com/. Just click the llight bulb on the left side of the home page.

Issues in Accounting Education Special Issue: Cases in International Accounting

This joint initiative of the American Accounting Association and its International Accounting Section includes 17 cases spanning a variety of topics and placement in the curriculum. Most can be utilized in more than one course, and several of the cases have a common theme. See volume 22, number 4 (November 2007) of Issues.

AAA IAS Workshop

Provides an overview of the IFRS / U.S. GAAP conceptual framework and discussion and illustration of key IFRS / U.S. GAAP differences. The target audience is accounting educators who seek to develop a basic, or work toward an intermediate, understanding of IFRS as compared with U.S. GAAP. The workshop will be offered at the annual meeting of the AAA on Saturday, Aug. 2, 1 – 4 p.m., and is sponsored by the AAA International Accounting Section and KPMG.

IASPlus Web Site

Provides the most comprehensive information on the Internet about international financial reporting. The site, which is totally free of charge, has a broad array of resources about the IASB and IFRS. Visit www.iasplus.com.

IASB project summaries

Free comprehensive overviews of all IASB projects can be downloaded from the IASB Web site at http://www.iasb.org/. In addition to being valuable for International Accounting, these are great supplements to use in Intermediate Accounting, Advanced Financial Reporting, and other classes.

SEC Global Accounting Standards Link

Provides “spotlights” of the IFRS Roadmap and includes several items that can be assigned as reading in International Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Advanced Financial Reporting, and other classes. Webcasts are also included. Available at http://www.sec.gov/.

These are several resources that facilitate our ability as educators to incorporate IFRS in U.S. accounting classes. Consider using these and other resources at your university. Updates to the above list will be periodically posted on the IAAER Web site (http://www.iaaer.org/) under the Teaching Resources Link.

Donna Street, of the University of Dayton, is president of the International Association of Accounting Education Research. Agnes Cheng, of Louisiana State University, is vice president of membership for the IAAER.