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Bloomberg's pending acquisition of the Bureau of National Affairs began with the decision of officers to shop the company last spring. BNA entered nondisclosure agreements with six organizations and in the end Bloomberg was competing with two other bidders, one offering a slightly higher price per share, according to documents filed with the SEC. Bloomberg won because it did not have the potential anti-trust issues the other finalists faced.

Is the switch from desktop to online software leaving an opportunity for new players to capture accounting users at Intuit's expense? While no one is predicting any online vendor is going to break the hold QuickBooks has on the low-end accounting marketing, the very existence of a new generation of competitors suggests that there are people out there who see an opening and are willing to invest money to carve a segment of the market.

A group called Social CPAs is seeking accountants' opinions about the use of social media. The group, lead by CPA Barry MacQuarrie, is closing out its second annual survey on Friday September 2. As with last year's survey, the 2011 version asks which sites accountants use and how they use them.

Martin Mucci, who became CEO on September 30, drew $3.3 million in compensation for Paychex year ended May 30. Mucci had previously served as SVP of operations and drew $1.3 million in pay for fiscal 2010. His big boost in the new job came from a $1.2 million stock award.