Top-ranked accounting firm Plante & Moran has tapped technology veteran Michael Dickson, CPA, CITP, as manager with the firm's technology consulting and solutions practice.

A California start-up is entering the online tax prep software fray with the launch of a new Web-based software package aimed at accounting firms with up to 15 practitioners.

Financial software provider Serenic Corp. has entered into a reselling pact with the Public Sector Partner Group, a six-VAR consortium, for its proprietary Serenic Navigator not-for-profit solution.

Informatica, an enterprise software integration provider, at its annual user conference, announced an original equipment manufacturer agreement with San Mateo, Calif.-based Itemfield, a data transformation software developer.

Intuit founder Scott Cook this week laid out how the latest software market trends will impact accountants and their clients at the California Accounting & Business Show and Conference.

Tax prep software maker Drake Software has named company veteran Tim Hubbs, CPA, as its president and chief executive.

* CSI ACQUIRES ACCOUNTWARE LINE: Tax and accounting software provider Creative Solutions Inc. has acquired the tax software line of Cincinnati-based Accountware for undisclosed terms. CSI said that it would extend an array of incentives, including price protection at Accountware renewal rates and training options, to Accountware's existing customers to transition to CSI's proprietary UltraTax CS products.

Best Software, part of the billion-dollar London-based software company Sage Group Plc, has been changing the face of its Accpac line for some time now - literally.

In a move to deepen its penetration into southwestern markets, middle-market software and consulting concern Enterprise Resource Group, headquartered here, has acquired Houston-based Burch Consultants.

First introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s, microcomputer-based accounting has long been the Rodney Dangerfield of applications - often getting little respect. Some accountants and their clients have been somewhat dismissive of these packages, considering them "starter" accounting systems - good to get a client computerized and familiarized with the benefits and requirements of an in-house system, but ultimately just a stop on the way to a real application. While there are numerous clients that eventually will want to upgrade, the majority of entry-level accounting packages provide clients with a robust feature set and capabilities that will help them meet regulatory requirements and provide the information that they need to run their businesses better.

Partner value and compensation continues to be a management topic that attracts considerable attention at firm summits and MAP conferences.

Tax and accounting software provider CCH Tax and Accounting and business applications developer Sage Software announced an expansion of their alliance to integrate Sage's FAS Asset Accounting product and CCH's ProSystem fx Tax software.

Intuit has launched an online tax research Web site called TaxAlmanac, in which it is enabling practitioners to post questions and answers.

Accounting software maker Intuit has put its Information Technology Solutions business, which sells Track-It! software, on the sale block.

Sage Software unveiled a new online payroll system for mid-market businesses at its annual partner conference, Insights 2005, here.

Avalara, a Web-service based sales tax software provider, revealed their latest sales tax software - AvaTax On-Demand.

Sage Software president and chief executive Ron Verni this week unveiled the company's new customer relationship management application during his keynote speech at Insights 2005, Sage's annual business partner conference, here.

Despite the fact that the software piracy rate dropped by 1 percent in 2004, losses due to piracy soared $4 billion, to $33 billion, according to a global study released this week.

Accounting and consulting firm Singer Lewak Greenbaum & Goldstein LLP has added enterprise risk management services to its roster of services with the establishment of an information technology risk management practice group.

Microsoft Corp. has launched the Microsoft Professional Accountants' Network to offer training and technical support on its upcoming Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 application.