Dean Michael Mead is a partner and Government & Public Sector Sub-Line Leader at CRI Advisors and a nationally recognized expert in governmental accounting and financial reporting. He previously spent 24 years (1998–2022) at the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), most recently as Assistant Director of Research and Technical Activities, where he helped oversee standards-setting research, stakeholder engagement, and evaluations of accounting standards. Mead authored GASB’s award-winning User Guide Series and numerous other publications that make government financial reporting accessible to public officials, financial professionals, and citizens. Before joining GASB, he served as Assistant Director of Research at the Citizens Budget Commission in New York City. He taught governmental accounting, auditing, and financial analysis at Rutgers Business School for 13 years and public and nonprofit financial management at New York University. A graduate of Cornell University and a Certified Government Financial Manager, Mead received the National Federation of Municipal Analysts’ Award for Excellence in 2015. He served on the ABFM Executive Committee and spent 12 years on the editorial board of Public Budgeting & Finance. His extensive professional service also includes membership on the board of directors of the Southern Municipal Finance Society.