Comparing the metafrontier Malmquist productivity changes of public accounting firms across countries*

This study compares the productivity changes of public accounting firms among the US, China, and Taiwan, under the framework of the stochastic metafrontier production function. Using the generalized metafrontier Malmquist productivity index (gMMPI), we find that even if Chinese accounting firms have the lowest average technical efficiencies, their average gMMPI surpasses the other two countries. This is associated with Chinese governmental policies that encourage fast expansion in the scale of accounting firms. Our model provides an alternative approach to comparing productivity change among firms across different groups and the findings are more suggestive to regulators and partners of accounting firms.