A translog function is specified to represent the relation between revenue and human resource inputs in public accounting firms. Estimation of the model using a balanced panel of annual data for 64 large CPA firms for the period 1995-1999 indicates that increasing returns to scale prevail in the...

This paper presents a new method for estimating standards. Prior accounting research suggests the need for flexibility in setting standards in order to allow managers to make trade-offs between efficiency and attainability, and also between inputs with different relative prices to minimize cost....