Welcome to the 5th episode of the podcast. I am joined by a very very special guest, Mark W. Nelson, The Dean at Cornell University’s School of Business. Mark W. Nelson is the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean and Professor of Accounting at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management in Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business. He received his BBA degree from Iowa State University and his MA and PhD degrees from The Ohio State University. Dean Nelson is responsible for Johnson’s three residential MBA programs, four Executive MBA programs, and two MPS programs. In that role, he oversees the research and teaching of Johnson’s faculty and the activities of Johnson’s staff in both Ithaca and New York City, as well as partnerships with Queens University, Tsinghua University, Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Tech. Dean Nelson also serves on the leadership team of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, and has responsibilities relevant to the overall activities of the College as well as to various research centers and institutes. Dean Nelson’s teaching has focused on intermediate financial accounting and financial reporting, as well as judgment and decision making in accounting. He has received ten teaching awards at Cornell and Ohio State, including the American Accounting Association’s inaugural Cook Prize for graduate teaching excellence. He is a coauthor (with Spiceland and Thomas) of Intermediate Accounting. Dean Nelson’s research examines psychological and economic factors that influence how people make decisions with financial information; interpret and apply accounting, auditing, and tax regulations; and trade in financial markets. His research has been published widely in accounting and psychology, and has been acknowledged with the AAA's Notable Contribution to Accounting Literature Award, the AAA’s Wildman Medal, AJPT’s inaugural Best Paper Award, and the Johnson School's Faculty Research Award. Dean Nelson’s external service includes three terms as an editor of the Accounting Review and four years on the FASB’s Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council.