Last week’s elections saw an increase in the number of CPAs in Congress.

All eight CPAs currently in the House won re-election, according to the Journal of Accountancy, including John Campbell, R-Calif., Mike Conaway, R-Texas, Bill Flores, R-Texas, Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., Collin Peterson, D-Minn., James Renacci, R-Ohio, and Brad Sherman, D-Calif. Several of them won re-election after fierce contests in recently redrawn congressional districts.

Joining them next year will be two more newly elected CPAs in the House: Tom Rice, R-S.C., and Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., although the results of Murphy’s election are still being contested by incumbent Allen West.

Assuming those results stand, 10 CPAs will be in the House, plus two accountants in the Senate who are not CPAs: Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

All that accounting expertise should be a big help when Congress deals with the impending fiscal cliff and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts in the lame-duck session and next term. Sherman and Conaway also run the Bipartisan Congressional CPA Caucus, which aims to bring that kind of expertise to help solve the nation’s economic problems. With two more CPAs expected to join the ranks of Congress next year, they will be getting some more accounting brainpower to help sort out the nation’s ballooning budget deficit.