An International Meeting of the American Accounting Association American Accounting Association 2006 Annual Meeting August 6–9, 2006 Washington, D.C.

Susan Boedeker Hughes
Butler University

Abstract: The prevalence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will increase with their required use in 2005 filings of EU and other then-adopting countries. As a result, many accounting graduates may be associated with financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. However, financial accounting textbooks of non-adopting countries provide only superficial coverage of IFRS. To familiarize students with the differences between IFRS and US GAAP, accounting instructors can develop assignments based upon IFRS to US GAAP reconciliations included in Form 20-F, the annual document submitted to the SEC by non-U.S. firms. The assignment provides students with a “road map” of the differences underlying specific company financial reporting, and helps instructors identify where these differences occur. Instructors in countries that have adopted IFRS can access current and prior year 20-Fs to illustrate the impact of IFRS adoption, as seen in the various reconciling items.

Back to Session Listing

AAA Home Page