IFRS CONVERGENCE: A CROSSROADS FOR POST SECONDARY ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Part :1 Globalization And U.S. Implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards

In November 2009 the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) renewed its commitment to achieving convergence of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to produce a single set of high-quality international accounting standards for domestic and international financial reporting purposes. Under a proposed rule and roadmap, by 2011, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) would make a determination whether the use of IFRS would be required by US. financial statement issuers In early 2010 the International Accounting Standards Board ( IASB) complicated the issue by deemphasizing convergence and promoting single-step adoption of IFRS as the only way to achieve compliance representation. Part I of this paper examines the impact of globalization and the history and current status of IFRS, specifically in the United States.