David Bean

David R. Bean, CPA, is the chief executive officer of Governmental Accounting Research, LLC, a consulting and training firm dedicated to public sector accounting and financial reporting activities. Prior to his retirement from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), David served as the GASB director of research and technical activities for over 30 years.

Before joining the GASB, David worked in public accounting and government. He also has served as Deputy Chairman of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). He was the lead author on the 1988 Governmental Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting (Blue Book) and was the founder of the GAAFR Review newsletter. He was the last director of the National Council on Governmental Accounting before the formation of the GASB in 1984.

David is a licensed CPA in Illinois and member of the Government Finance Officers Association, the Illinois Government Finance Officers Associations, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Illinois CPA Society, the AGA, the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, and the Municipal Analysts Group of New York.

David was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame in 2025 and the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT) Hall of Fame in 2001.