Complexity of standards and tax law complexity ranked as important issues among small firms, according to the 2011 PCPS CPA Firm Top Issues Survey released this week by the AICPA. But in a difficult economy, it should not be surprising that bringing in new clients was the top issue for three of the five categories of firms surveyed. And getting new clients was a top five concern of all five groups.

Relational Investors, an investment group that has claimed a couple of CEO scalps, plans to sharply cut its holdings in Intuit where it has been very quiet. The firm has informed Intuit that it will sell up to 5,562,500 shares of stock, almost 50 percent of its holdings as reported to the SEC on June 21. Relational expressed its confidence in Intuit and its future.

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.