LarsonAllen strengthened its commitment to the East Coast with a Philadelphia-area merger that will see it acquire 50-year-old firm Ostroff, Fair & Co. PC.

Wiss & Co. announced that it has merged in the operations of Warren, N.J.-based accounting firm Casey, Townsend & Killian LLP, a specialist in the construction industry, as of Jan. 1. Terms of the deal where not disclosed.

Enterprise software provider Epicor has acquired privately held CRS Retail Systems of Newburgh, N.Y., in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly $121 million.The acquisition of CRS, a provider of merchandising and point-of-sale software to the retail industry, adds the retail sector to Epicor's market penetration of enterprise solutions.

The CPA and business advisory firm of Whittlesey & Hadley has merged in the firm of Snyder & Haller. Both firms are headquartered here.

New York-area CPA and business advisory firm Citrin Cooperman has merged in Shulman, Cohen, Furst & Co., a boutique firm in New York City.

Commerce Bancorp Inc., parent to some 375 Commerce Bank branches in the New York, Philadelphia and Southeast Florida markets, has acquired online wealth manager eMoney Advisor for $32 million.

Bolstering its presence in the Philadelphia market, BMC, a CPA and business consulting firm formerly known as Beard Miller Co., has merged in Paoli, Pa.-based McDade Abbott.

Mueller & Co., a Chicago-area CPA and financial services firm, has merged with Aurora, Ill.-based Nickels, Beilman & Co. effective immediately.

In a strategy to boost its presence in the Philadelphia market, RSM McGladrey is in the process of acquiring the non-attest services, of King of Prussia, Pa.-based CPA firm Mantas, Ohliger, McGary & Quinn, according to documents obtained by WebCPA.

SS&G Financial Services Inc. will acquire central Columbus firm Schwartz, Adelman & Yankovich CPAs Inc., in a deal effective Jan. 1.

Two Rhode Island firms announced a merger deal that will be effective as of Jan. 1. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Regional CPA and business advisory firm Blum Shapiro will merge in the Fairfield, Conn.-based firm of Leask & Leask.Terms were not disclosed.

High-profile investment research and products provider Morningstar will buy privately held Ibbotson Associates, an asset allocation service concern, for $83 million.

The market for mergers and acquisitions is expected to remain strong into 2006, according to a new study released by the corporate financial advising arm of KPMG International.

Fishbein & Co. PC has announced a merger with the corporate practice division of HJ Financial Group. The merger is expected to be completed in January 2006.

Enterprise software provider Epicor has acquired privately held CRS Retail Systems of Newburgh, N.Y., in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly $121 million.

The West Trenton-based firm of Manuel S. Newman & Co. CPAs has merged with WithumSmith+Brown. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Global Alliance and Moore Stephens North America Inc. will merge to create one of the largest CPA firm associations. To be known as Moore Stephens North America, the association represents 35 firms with gross revenues of over $600 million.Though the Global Alliance consists of larger firms, Moore Stephens is a more established name in the industry, and the new organization will remain a part of Moore Stephens International Ltd. According to the new association, its revenue base will place it within the top 10 of all U.S. CPA firms.

Xpert Business Solutions and Socius 1, two national technology consulting firms, announced a merger that will leave the two businesses operating under the name Socius. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Yount, Hyde & Barbour PC announced it will merge with its neighbor, Rose, Sanderson & Creasy LLC, a Richmond, Va.-based CPA firm.