I don't know why this works, but I use it on one of my docs.
OK, first hightlight the entire range of cells that include the account numbers. I'm hoping they are all in a single column. With the cells highlighted, click on INSERT > NAME > DEFINE. In the popup that appears, type
AccNums and click ADD.
You've just "named" all your account numbers and can use that name in a formula. Here is the formula:
Code:
=SUMPRODUCT((AccNums<>"")/COUNTIF(AccNums,AccNums&""))
This formula should result in the number of how many unique items it found in the range. It should also ignore blank cells.