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.

INTUIT TAPS SCHAR AS VP, CMO: Intuit Inc. named Procter & Gamble veteran Mark Schar to the post of senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the financial and tax software provider.In that role, Schar will lead the company's efforts to acquire new customers and will be responsible for product marketing efforts - including Internet and direct marketing - advertising, customer research, business development, and communications.

I am a student of the topic of leadership, mostly because my career calling requires it, but also because it is so difficult to define and impossible to master. By turns, leadership is hard to define, teach and quantify, but also easy to spot, be inspired by and follow.In public accounting, leadership has become an increasingly popular topic, as the entrepreneurial leaders who formed so many thriving practices begin to seriously contemplate retirement, only to be faced with the big question - who will lead this practice in my absence?

CCH, a provider of tax and accounting software and services based here, has, via a licensing agreement with 10-K Wizard Technology - an online provider of Securities and Exchange Commission filings - given its Accounting Research Manager customers access to SEC Edgar listings via a new feature titled 10-K Lookup. Terms of the pact were not disclosed.ARM is CCH's proprietary online database of accounting, auditing, SEC and governmental authoritative literature and interpretive guidance.

Marilyn Sudbeck, a Denver-based CPA with her own firm, worked in retail management for 17 years. As an accountant for retailers, today she finds a variety of benefits to installing point-of-sales systems for her clients - and the benefits to herself as their CPA are just as noteworthy."The reports are much more precise, more accurate," she explained. "The clients have a better handle on their inventory - it's an expensive thing for a retailer to carry inventory they don't need. Now they can tell what's selling and what's not selling."