Would you Retire to Avoid the Switch to IFRS?

If you were an accounting professor, would you alter your lesson plans to include International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), or would you retire early to avoid the bother?

That's the question raised by Victoria Erhart in a column at BloggingStocks:

Currently, accounting degree programs in the U.S. are defined by the requirements for the CPA exam, which does not require familiarity with IFRS. American accounting faculty, overall an older group, teach from textbooks geared towards the CPA exam. Unless and until the SEC actually publicly states a date by which U.S. companies can or must shift to IFRS, nothing will move. Potential accountants will not be exposed to IFRS as part of the curriculum. The CPA exam will not require familiarity with IFRS. Present accounting faculty will not change their course syllabi or textbooks to include IFRS. Many may opt to retire rather than retrain and redesign their courses. Lead time for publishing a new textbook is at least two years, often longer. Who will write the new textbooks?

She's immediately blasted by Professor Cynthia Sneed who responds that the "old" professors will manage somehow.

If you're thinking of reading up on IFRS, head to Amazon.com, where you'll find there are 397 books with the words "International Financial Reporting Standards" in the title.