Fat salary for US audit watchdog chair

The chairman of the PCAOB will receive an annual salary of $560,000 (£348,000) while directors will net a cool $452,000, making them amongst the highest paid financial regulators in the country.

In comparison the president takes home $400,000 a year, while the chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission, which set up the watchdog, takes home a relatively measly $142,500.

The PCAOB is currently operating with a temporary chairman - Charles Niemeier - as former FBI head William Webster resigned after only a couple of weeks in the job, following a scandal surrounding a company under federal investigation, where he was head of its audit committee.