Get used to it, folks: International financial reporting standards, or IFRS, are here to stay.

IFRS took another step toward full-fledged U.S. adoption when the American Institute of CPAs officially recognized the International Accounting Standards Board as a standard-setter for the profession. That gives AICPA members the option of using IFRS instead of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

With that milestone in place, the AICPA has released a number of resources that explain the IFRS concept and answer IFRS-related questions from a number of different perspectives. Check out the following:

• An IFRS Web site that offers tools designed to help CPAs prepare for the arrival of the IFRS in the United States
• Answers to frequently asked questions about IFRS
• An 11-page "backgrounder" that explains the IFRS concept and the AICPA's participation, and offers detailed explanations of what CPAs need to know
• An IFRS primer for audit committees, a four-page document that summarizes IFRS from an audit committee perspective

These and other IFRS resources, along with related news headlines and training opportunities, are available on the MACPA's IFRS resource center.

Check out these resources, then tell us: Are you ready for the inevitable arrival of IFRS?

Learn more at the Expo
IFRS will be among the topics covered at the first-ever Maryland Business and Accounting Expo, slated for June 17-18 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Get details about the Expo and register here.