In a recent survey by the American Accounting Association and KPMG, three-quarters of 500 college professors said they need to start teaching IFRS as part of the regular accounting curriculum but nearly an equal number said they aren’t sure how to fit it into an already packed program. Half of the professors said they see a low sense of urgency among U.S. regulators to set a date or establish a timeline for adopting IFRS.

“It takes a long time to change curriculum and they’re not seeing a time frame ahead of them,” said Bea Sanders, national director of faculty relations for KPMG. “It’s a challenge for faculty to determine how much to incorporate, and at what pace, as students graduate over the next couple of years so students graduate with enough knowledge of IFRS to enter the workforce.”

Manny Fernandez, managing partner at KPMG, said faculty have spent a lot of time getting themselves prepared to teach IFRS, but they’re uncertain about the direction the Securities and Exchange Commission might take with its proposed roadmap to adoption of IFRS. “Will they continue down the convergence trail or put a hard-and-fast date on companies?” he said. “In their minds there isn’t enough clarity at this point, so they really are looking for direction. When is it going to be? What is it going to be? How is it going to look?”

The Securities and Exchange Commission has signaled that it will resume action this fall on its proposed roadmap for IFRS adoption in the United States. The SEC’s initial vision, published in November 2008, suggests a phasing of IFRS for all public companies from 2014 to 2016.

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