Midwestern accounting and consulting powerhouse Virchow, Krause & Co. kicked off the New Year by flexing its acquisition muscle.

Top-ranked accounting and consulting firm Rothstein Kass, based here, which specializes in serving the alternative investments industry, said that it is selling its interests in RK Consulting, the firm's investment fund administration affiliate, to stave off independence issues.

Regional firm Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., based here, is expanding into Newport with the merger of Casten, Victor & Co. into its fold.

Operating under the theory that bigger is better, regional CPA firms Reinsel & Co. LLP and Kuntz Lesher LLP have joined forces to strengthen their presence in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Accounting firm consolidator Century Business Services Inc. has acquired the San Diego-based CPA and consulting firm Nation Smith Hermes Diamond.

Top-ranked Southeast regional firm Cherry, Bekaert & Holland has expanded its presence in the Tampa Bay market with the addition of Rex Meighen & Co. to its accounting and consulting group.

South Johnson & Co., a two-partner tax and assurance practice in Boise, has merged with regional CPA and management consulting firm LeMaster & Daniels. Financial terms of the merger, which became effective Jan. 1, were not disclosed. The union will add some $2.4 million to the revenues of LeMaster & Daniels. South Johnson co-founder Tom South was elected into ownership of L&M, while the firm's other co-founder, David Johnson, will transition out of public accounting effective July 1, 2005. Until that time, he will become a principal with the Boise, Idaho, office of L&M. LeMaster and Daniels ranked No. 65 on Accounting Today's Top 100 Firms list with revenues of $25.4 million. The firm now has 27 owner/members, 200 employees and 12 offices throughout Washington and Idaho.

Global financial services and business management provider Fiducial acquired Lousiville, Ky.-based AUSA Inc., a regional bookkeeping and write-up services company that operates under the brand Accounting USA. Financial terms were not disclosed. Ken Berryman, the former president of AUSA Inc., has joined Fiducial as the Louisville area's district manager. Going forward, AUSA will operate under the Fiducial brand. The acquisition adds 100-plus small business clients to Fiducial's portfolio.

Anchin, Block & Anchin, a regional CPA and management consulting firm based here, has merged with area CPA practice Yohalem Gillman & Co.

Fiducial, a provider of business outsourcing services to small businesses and entrepreneurs, has acquired the accounting offices of Prince William County, Va., CPA firm Frisch Ambrosiano & Kontos PC, adding nearly 1,300 tax, write-up and payroll clients and two locations to its operations.

Regional CPA and business advisory firms WithumSmith+Brown, and Mendlowitz Weitsen have merged their practices, effective Jan. 1.

National firm Crowe Chizek has completed its previously announced merger with Chicago-based CPA firm PTW. Going forward, PTW and its 50 staffers will now operate under the Crowe brand. Crowe merged PTW under its Public Sector Services umbrella and, as a result, the union created the largest single practice group in Illinois offering government-related consulting, attestation and financial services. Crowe's existing offices in Oak Brook and Chicago, and PTW's offices in Oak Brook, Chicago and Springfield, Ill., will remain. Headquartered here, Crowe ranked No. 12 on Accounting Today's 2004 Top 100 Firms list, with annual revenues of $247.3 million.

Konigsberg Wolf, a CPA, tax and management consulting firm headquartered here, said that it has merged in Steven Merdinger and Peter Gadaleta as partners to the concern. Merdinger and Gadaleta formerly were partners in the New York-based firm of Merdinger, Fruchter Rosen & Co., where Merdinger was founding partner. The addition of Merdinger and Gadlata brings Konigsberg's partner total to 13, with a total staff of 50.

Regional powerhouse Horne LLP, a 21-partner firm based here, has bolstered its staff and expanded its Tennessee presence with the merger of Jackson, Tenn.-based Crain & Co. into its fold.

Integrated human resources and benefits services provider RSM McGladrey Employer Services Inc. has acquired SourceWeb, an HR/payroll and self-service product from Minneapolis-based Ceridian Corp.

Operating under the theory that bigger is better, regional CPA firms Reinsel & Co. LLP and Kuntz Lesher LLP have joined forces to strengthen their presence in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

LBMC Technologies, an affiliate of top-ranked CPA firm Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, has merged with IT Solutions.

Local CPA firms Grimaldi & Associates CPAs and Nelkin, Griesel and Graves CPAs have merged their practices to form Grimaldi & Nelkin CPAs.

H&R Block subsidiary RSM McGladrey Inc., a national accounting and consulting firm focused on serving the middle market, has boosted its presence in northern Illinois with the acquisition of the non-attest assets of the Rockford office of BDO Seidman LLP.

Midwestern accounting and consulting powerhouse Virchow, Krause & Co. is kicking off the New Year by flexing its acquisition muscle.