You might expect that Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, would be a little salty about federal courts, which have held up or blocked new rules and limited the commission’s purview and enforcement powers.

But the top securities cop had only kind words for the judiciary, and no comment on cases its esteemed members are currently litigating, in a conversation last week moderated by former Commissioner Robert Jackson. The chair also shut down questions about the presidential election. Something about not wanting to break federal law.

Gensler gazers got a lot more material to work with on cryptocurrency, which the chair insisted was like any other security it has the authority to regulate, in line with the commission’s appeal this month of a ruling that held the opposite.

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

You’ve taken some pretty bold steps, and the courts have, from time to time, invalidated them on the basis that the agency lacks the authority to take those steps.

We laid out an agenda when I came in in 2021: 50 to 55 substantive rules that we wanted to do. We finalized 43. Three have been overturned…and five others are being challenged, [but] 35 are not.

Click here for more on Gensler’s thoughts on recent court rulings.—GD

In the struggle to recruit more accounting and finance people among a limited pool of young talent, it pays (literally, in this case, for students) to widen that pool as much as possible.

That’s the big idea behind a new accounting apprenticeship program that AICPA and CIMA recently launched.

The Registered Apprenticeship for Accounting and Finance Associate gives participants, who may be as young as 16, an accelerated entry point into the accounting world, according to a news release. It’s also a lead-in to the existing Registered Apprenticeship for Finance Business Partners Program, where apprentices ultimately earn the CGMA certification for management accounting.

The program is registered with the Department of Labor, according to Tom Hood, EVP of business engagement and growth at AICPA and CIMA. Apprentices earn college credits and wages while honing their craft—partially paid for by federal and state governments, he told CFO Brew.

AICPA and CIMA created the new program as “a response to the market because of the need for entry-level positions like accounting clerks and payroll specialists,” Joanne Fiore, VP of pipeline and apprenticeships, told CFO Brew. It serves people who want to jump into the profession immediately out of high school or those already in the field who want to “level up” with new, in-demand skills, Fiore added.

For more on the new accounting apprenticeship program, click here.—AZ

While Ikea’s price cuts have brought in more customers, the last 12 months have not been the company’s Bestå, sales-wise. But everyone Kallax, because the budget furniture and homewares brand expects the pieces to come together in 2025.

(Yes, we have assembled a lot of Ikea furniture over the years…why do you ask?)

The holding company for the franchised Swedish stores said last week that annual sales fell 5.3% in the 12 months ending on August 31, the Wall Street Journal reported, while its in-person and online store visits jumped 4.5% and 21%, respectively.

We don’t have pictures, but we’ll walk you through the story step by step. In the last year, while home furniture sales were falling across the market, so were the costs of materials and shipping, the Journal reported. Ikea executives began to cut prices to boost store visits.

In fiscal 2023, the company hiked prices and enjoyed its best-ever sales, Bloomberg reported. But the CEO of Ikea’s franchiser knows which side his rye is buttered on. “​​It’s when we increase prices that there’s a risk for the business model,” Jon Abrahamsson Ring told the outlet. Despite the revenue dip, the company enjoyed “higher market share, more store visits and a rise in web traffic” in the 12 months ending in August.

For more on Ikea’s price cut woes, click here.—GD