The 2013 All-America Research Team: Accounting & Tax Policy, No. 3: Janet Pegg

Unranked last year, Janet Pegg returns to the ranking in third place. Described by one backer as an “indispensable resource” who “takes on big, topical issues with an unmatched depth of analysis,” the researcher decamped UBS in July to join recently launched Cornerstone Capital. Pegg has been advising clients that the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board is set to issue rules that will “significantly impact the financial statements and information investors are given.” These include a new standard on revenue recognition, expected in the next few months, as well as new rules over the coming year on accounting for financial instruments. The latter “will impact how companies classify these instruments and how income, gains and losses are recognized,” she reports. In addition, FASB is grappling with changes to lease accounting. “The current proposal would require recognition of off-balance-sheet liabilities,” Pegg notes, “while potentially changing the pattern of expense recognition for some leases.” — Paul Sweeney