International Standards on AICPA

　　International standards—including International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS）—will become eligible to be tested on the CPA Examination as of January 1，2011，when the new Content and Skill Specifications （CSOs/SSOs） go into effect . This means that questions on international standards will begin to be integrated gradually into the examination while U .S . standards continue to be tested . It also means that questions on international standards and international topics in general may appear in different examination sections .

　　Financial Accounting and Reporting （FAR）

　　In FAR，questions on international standards are likely to focus on identifying and understanding the differences between financial statements prepared on the basis of U .S . GAAP and those prepared on the basis of IFRS . Another possible topic is first-time adoption of IFRS related to financial reporting， presentation and disclosures in general-purpose financial statements .

　　Business Environment and Concepts （BEC）

　　In BEC，candidates may be asked to demonstrate their understand- ing of the impact of globalization on the business environment . They may also be asked to explain the underlying economic sub- stance of transactions .

　　Auditing and Attestation （AUD）

　　In AUD，questions may cover the International Auditing and Assurance Board （IAASB），its role in establishing International Standards on Auditing （ISAs）， and the differences between ISAs and U .S . Auditing Standards . Also， the role of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants （IESBA） in establishing requirements for the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants of the International Federation of Accountants （IFAC） . In addition， candidates may be asked to demonstrate their knowledge of the AICPA Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards，AU Appendix B， Analysis of International Standards on Auditing .

　　Regulation （REG）

　　No questions on international standards are currently scheduled to be included in REG in view of the uncertainty of the U .S . tax ramifications of the potential use of IFRS by U .S . companies . However， the REG con-tent specifications may be modified in the future to reflect international standards . The inclusion of international standards on the CPA Examination is based on the determination that knowledge of IFRS is currently required of entry-level CPAs in many different practice settings . In other words， such knowledge has been found to be relevant and important to today‘s workplace responsibilities of entry-level CPAs . Tomorrow’s requirements are not likely to change， regardless of progress toward the convergence of IFRS and U .S . GAAP . In all probability， CPAs will need to be conver- sant with both U .S . and international standards for the foreseeable future .