Webster to Leave Board Before Jan. 6 Meeting

William Webster plans to step aside as head of the new federal accounting oversight board before its first official meeting Jan. 6.

Webster led a second informal meeting of the five-member panel Monday in Washington. The board discussed a schedule for collecting fees from public companies to fund its work and for inspecting accounting firms’ work by summer.

Webster, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency, said last month that he would resign over questions about his role at U.S. Technologies Inc., where he headed the audit committee.

Webster indicated that the SEC will name an interim oversight board chairman from among the board’s other four members. The SEC isn’t likely to pick a permanent successor for Webster by early January.