The Determinants of IFRS Coverage in the Undergraduate Accounting Curricula

Melissa Aldredge

Academics have received mixed messages for over a decade concerning if, when, and how International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will be implemented in the United States, and those uncertainties have left many accounting departments in a quandary. Currently, as the SEC continues to consider whether IFRS should be mandated for U.S. companies, collegiate accounting students are graduating with varying degrees of IFRS knowledge. This correlational research study utilized a quantitative method of inquiry to gain a better understanding of the impact potential IFRS adoption has had on accounting education from the perspective of accounting educators. A logistics regression model was used to investigate potential relationships among the study’s five independent variables (educator rank, institution size, IFRS familiarity, IFRS uncertainty, timing of U.S. IFRS adoption) and the dependent variable of interest (IFRS course coverage).Although results indicated that the overall regression model was significantly predictive (𝒳2 (11) = 21.48, p = .029)and correctly classified IFRS course coverage in 87% of the cases; an analysis of the correlations among individual constructs revealed that only one factor, IFRS familiarity, was significantly related (p=.007) to IFRS course coverage. The study makes an important contribution to the accounting literature by imparting insight into how educator characteristics and perceptions regarding U.S. IFRS convergence influence the coverage of IFRS principles in their accounting classes. In addition, by examining the degree of IFRS coverage currently in the accounting curricula as well as the factors influencing that coverage, educators can determine whether students are being adequately prepared for the global work environment and redesign the curricula accordingly.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.21102/gefj.2018.09.112.03