Are U.S. Academics and Professionals Ready for IFRS? an Explanation Using Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been adopted by several countries around the world as a common accounting and financial language. However, the U.S. is yet to do so. In this study, we investigate the acceptance of the U.S. academics (accounting and auditing students and professors) as well as practitioners (auditors, accountants, CPAs, and financial analysts) to embrace IFRS as a common accounting and financial reporting language. We discuss the extent to which they are familiar with IFRS as well as their perception about the usefulness and risks in adopting IFRS. We further touch on IFRS education, training, and information technology role. Finally, we introduce a modified model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the theory of planned behavior TPB to examine the extent to which perceived risk, perceived usefulness, and perceived familiarity with IFRS affect the perception of readiness to adopt the new standards. We do this by surveying 84 U.S. academics and practitioners. The results from structural equation modeling (SEM) show that perceived risk, familiarity, and usefulness are significant determinants of the adoption of the new standards. In particular, perceived risk of IFRS had the strongest power in predicting the readiness to adopt the new standards.