Results of the AAA/KPMG Survey on Implementation of IFRS and Data Analytics into U.S. Accounting Curricula

• In Event: Accounting Education and XBRL

Abstract

During July and August 2014, the Teaching and Curriculum Committee of the AAA International Accounting Section conducted a survey, co-sponsored by KPMG LLP, on the status of integration of IFRS into the accounting curriculum. The survey was administered to all AAA members with a call for respondents from U.S. institutions; 349 members from a wide variety of AAA sections responded by the August 22 closing date. The first purpose of the survey is to refresh one that had been conducted annually from 2008 to 2011 during a time when the U.S. SEC was more strongly considering allowing U.S. issuers to report under IFRS as foreign registrants are allowed to do. The second purpose is to investigate the status of integrating data analytics into accounting curricula. Key findings are that most faculty now are not confident that the U.S will adopt IFRS at some point. Despite this belief, 83% of respondents continue to say it is important for faculty to teach IFRS in U.S. universities, similar to the 85% reporting this opinion in 2011. In contrast, fully 21% of respondents do not believe IFRS should be integrated into the curriculum. The approach used is to integrate IFRS into existing courses, primarily the intermediate sequence, to the extent of one or two credit hours of coverage. Respondents report similar challenges to integrating IFRS into the curriculum as in earlier years: making room in the curriculum, training faculty, and developing materials. Interestingly, nearly the same percentage of respondents report integrating data analytics (38%) as they do forensics (39%) into the accounting curriculum.

Authors

• Judy K Beckman, University of Rhode Island

• Mary Michel, Manhattan College

• Paul Munter, KPMG LLP

• Elizabeth K Venuti, Hofstra University