WebCPA.com reports a survey of 535 accounting professors conducted by the American Accounting Association and KPMG showed that only 22 percent of them intend to incorporate IFRS lessons into their plans for the 2008-9 academic year.

Bad enough - but 62% of them "admitted they have not taken any significant steps toward doing so."

Don't they read the papers? You're entitled to wonder. One legitimate excuse offered by the profs: it's hard to fit anything more into the curricula. There's more justification for a mandatory five-year program.

The survey also showed that they didn't expect textbooks to be available on the subject until the 2010-11 academic year. They're probably right - but that doesn't mean they can afford to turn out students who will be facing new accounting challenges the minute they walk onto the job. There is a real opportunity here for schools to differentiate themselves from the pack. The ones that can develop a rugged program that at least teaches students IFRS rudiments - and how to continue learning afterwards - will be able to attract the best students and engender the best relations with the Big Four when recruiting time comes for their graduates.