Ex-SEC Staff Member Williams Picked to Lead U.S. Audit Overseer

A former top Securities and Exchange Commission staff member was named chair of the U.S.’s auditing watchdog, a regulator charged with protecting investors from financial frauds.

Erica Williams, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, will be the first person of color to lead the five-member Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, according to an announcement Monday. The organization, which is overseen by the SEC, has been in turmoil since June when the agency fired its Republican chairman and announced it was overhauling the group.

“The PCAOB was formed in response to a crisis of confidence in the corporate ...