Efficient allocation of constrained resources to achieve the organization's goals is key to unveiling the"black box"of its internal operations and governance.Empirical evidence from accounting firms indicates that audit inputs are negatively associat-ed with larger clients and positively associated with smaller clients.This suggests that accounting firms allocate audit resources differ-entially based on client importance within their portfolio.Further analysis demonstrates that this phenomenon is more pronounced for non-Big Four accounting firms with larger client bases,and less prevalent among clients ultimately controlled by the state(i.e.,SOEs)or those with weak corporate governance.