Second-tier accounting firms, too, are paying attention to IFRS education, each in its own way. And other offerings to help companies and others learn about international standards include "self-study programs" being offered in Europe, and in one case available through a U.S.-based company called ContractualCFO.

If the Big Four connections on IFRS with university instruction all sound well-organized, at least some people think it might be a bit too well-organized.

"While it's in the self-interest of all the accounting firms to develop the university relationships that will get IFRS taught in the United States schools, is there a risk that they might have too much influence on the whole curriculum?" Jack Ciesielski asks in a recent blog post. "After all, the university system is not supposed to be the farm system for entry-level public accountants." Rather, he observes, it should be "exposing students to other accounting disciplines: managerial accounting and tax, for instance." There is a danger, he suggests, that if the Big Four imposes itself too deeply, "the pendulum could swing too far."

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