LogicalApps, a provider of embedded governance software, announced that it has acquired the Integra product line from Applimation, a provider of management consulting and software for businesses using Oracle and PeopleSoft applications.

Investment research firm Morningstar Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire Standard and Poor’s mutual fund data business for $55 million in cash.

Two South Florida-based accounting firms have merged their operations.

Fiducial, a provider of tax, payroll, financial and business services to small businesses, announced that it has strengthened its Midwest market by acquiring Matrix Accounting and Business Services.

California’s Pohl, McNabola, Berg & Co. announced that it has merged with Texas firm Helin, Donovan, Trubee & Wilkinson LLP in a deal effective Jan. 1.The combined firm, which will operate under the name PMB Helin Donovan LLP, will have a dozen partners and approximately 65 total staff in the two states.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has taken over the tax practice unit of an Indian financial services firm to create the largest accounting firm in the country.

After serving as a regional managing partner with a national firm for several years, in the late 1970s Len Miller decided to find a new home for his technical expertise in accounting and consulting, as well as his firm administration skills. He co-founded his own firm in Phoenix, Miller Wagner & Co. Ltd., and ran the business for more than two decades before consolidating with CBiz Inc. in early 1999. Today, Miller serves as the president of CBiz Accounting, Tax & Advisory Services LLC.With over 40 years of experience, Miller is a recognized expert in the fields of finance, real estate, general business consulting and various litigation support matters -- but he still places an emphasis on the programs his firm has in place to retain and develop its own employees.

One of New England's largest independent CPA firms, Carlin, Charron & Rosen LLP, has announced a pending merger with UHY Advisors. Terms of the merger, which should close May 1, were not disclosed. In May 2006, UHY acquired the Boston-based accounting firm Brown & Brown LLP, absorbing the firm's 80 employees.CCR employs more than 280 professionals in its Boston and Westborough, Mass., offices, as well as locations in Glastonbury, Conn., and Providence, R.I. Founded in 1918, the firm provides assurance, tax and advisory services to a range of clients.

In a series of deals effective Jan. 1, LarsonAllen LLP acquired four firms, expanding its presence in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Arizona. Terms were not disclosed.The firms that will be joining LarsonAllen include: Wisconsin-based Tracey & Thole SC; Ahern Montag Vogler Ltd. and Peterson & Co. PA, both based in Mankato, Minn.; and Scottsdale, Ariz.-based The O'Connor Group PC.

Liberty Tax Service announced the acquisition of eSmartTax, the income tax preparation business of San Jose, Calif.-based C&S Technologies. Financial terms of the deal, which does not include C&S's payroll-tax-related filing services, were not disclosed.The eSmartTax acquisition will allow Liberty customers to prepare and file individual tax returns on the Internet through the company's Web site, or through the Internal Revenue Service's Free File Alliance site.

Andersen & Co. LLP, an accounting firm in California’s North Bay region, has announced plans to merge with Beels, Soper & Frei LLP of Petaluma, Calif.

Pittsburgh’s Malin, Bergquist and Co. LLP and Greensburg, Pa.-based Deluzio, Teems & Anzovino announced that they have merged.

Thomson Tax & Accounting, part of the Thomson Corp., announced that it has finalized the acquisition of Illinois-based Deloitte Tax LLP Sales & Use Outsourcing business.

The Kansas City accounting firm of Thomas King & Co. PC and investment management firm King Financial Group Inc. have merged with CBiz and Mayer Hoffman McCann PC.Terms of the deal, which became effective Jan. 1, were not disclosed.

Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLP announced a merger with Orlando’s Silver & Associates PA.

Fueled by the combination of aging partners who are sliding closer to retirement and the ongoing hunt for qualified staff, the accounting profession stands on the precipice of a major surge in mergers and acquisitions.According to Marc Rosenberg, CPA and president of The Rosenberg Associates, a consultancy in Wilmette, Ill., there has been a 30 percent reduction in accounting graduates from 1996 to 2000. "Although this has reversed somewhat, it has not improved to anywhere near the level that many think," he said. "In fact, statistics from the American Institute of CPAs' annual study of accounting firm graduates from 2001 through 2004 show that accounting graduates nationwide increased 8.9 percent. That's only 3 percent a year."

On the heels of its $1 billion-plus acquisition of online banking services provider Digital Insight, Intuit Inc. continued bolstering its niche offerings by inking a $142 million deal to acquire payments processor Electronic Clearing House Inc., or Echo.Under the terms of the agreement, the financial and accounting software concern will pay $18.75 per share in cash in exchange for each share of Echo common stock, including shares that are issuable upon exercise of options.

News of firm mergers and acquisitions continues to flow -- over the past week, a trio of firms announced deals that were effective as of the start of the New Year.

CPA firms continue to experience strong growth, with 76 percent reporting an increase in firm size last year, according to benchmark data in the 2006 National Management of an Accounting Practice Survey.Despite that growth, the recently-released survey also confirmed that succession planning remains a stumbling block for many firms facing the imminent retirement of the Baby Boomer generation. The survey found that only 24 percent of firms have a succession plan and only 7 percent of firms have partner-in-training programs.

Payroll, tax and benefit services provider TimePlus Payroll announced its recent acquisition of West Columbia, S.C.-based American Business Payroll.