Board's Chief Gets Power to Fire Staff

The U.S. accounting industry's new oversight board gave Chairman William McDonough power to fire senior staff without board approval in most cases, prompting the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the board's structure and organization.

The amendment to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board bylaws just beat the April 26 deadline set by federal corporate governance law for the SEC to determine that the board is properly set up.

SEC officials argued that McDonough should have the right to make staffing decisions alone, while accounting board members wanted him to seek their permission.