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.

Top 100 Firm Blum, Shapiro & Co. PC announced that it has acquired Glastonbury, Conn.-based Scully & Wolf LLP.

Two boutique accounting firms based in Houston announced their recent merger.

RSM McGladrey’s Florida growth strategy took another step forward this month, as the firm announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Tedder, James, Worden & Associates.

Two firms in Kansas City, Mo., have announced a merger.TMPitman & Associates LLC bought Glen Burrington & Co. at the close of 2006 for an undisclosed amount, according to local newspapers. The deal closed on Dec. 29 and will give public accounting firm TMPitman its second location in the area.

In a series of deals effective Jan. 1, LarsonAllen LLP acquired four firms, expanding its presence in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Arizona.

Oregon’s Aldrich Kilbride & Tatone LLC has increased its staff 50 percent by merging with a San Diego firm. In a separate deal, Cleveland’s SS&G Financial Services Inc. announced that it has acquired an Ohio neighbor.Financial terms of both mergers were not disclosed.

Dixon Hughes PLLC has acquired West Virginia’s Simpson & Osborne AC, while Maryland’s Katz, Abosch, Windesheim, Gershman & Freedman PA recently announced its own acquisition of Annapolis, Md.-based Siebert Kullman PA.

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.

Saginaw, Mich. – As planned, the Rehmann Group has completed the acquisition of two Michigan firms -- Farmington Hills-based Boyes, Wright, Pittman & Co. PLLC and Traverse City-based Weber, Curtin & Pahssen LLC.Financial terms of the deal, which became effective Jan 1, were not disclosed.

In a grab for a share of the exploding Web-based banking market, QuickBooks parent Intuit Inc. agreed to acquire online banking services provider Digital Insight Inc. for $1.35 billion in a combination of cash and debt.Under the terms of the deal, which is expected to close during the first quarter of 2007, Intuit will tender $39 in cash for each share of Calabasas, Calif.-based Digital Insight - roughly 18 percent over the company's closing share price of $33 prior to the announcement. Intuit will also assume about $1 billion in debt financing.