Considering the pain the rest of the workforce is feeling these days, CPAs have to be counting their blessings. Consider:

• Accounting and finance professionals should see a 3.1 percent increase in compensation next year, according to Robert Half's 2011 Salary Guide. Those receiving the biggest jumps in pay will be senior business analysts (5 percent), tax accounting managers (4.9 percent), financial analysts (4.8 percent) and senior compliance analysts (4.1 percent).
• Fifty percent of accounting graduates are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their career path, according to a recent Wall Street Journal survey. That may not sound impressive, but accounting came in second behind chemical engineering and management information systems, each of which clocked in with a satisfaction rate of 54 percent. Finance grads report a satisfaction rate of 47 percent.
• Hiring in the accounting and finance world is on the rise for the first time since early 2009.

Let's face it: It'll be a while before we can all feel good about the economy again. For CPAs, though, these numbers are a start.

Let's hope all sectors of the workforce feel similar encouragement soon.