It’s weird. When people leave their jobs en masse, you might find your workplace understaffed. It’s, like, so random and inexplicable.

Paul Atkins, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s newly appointed chair, said the agency is looking to fill vacancies left by departing staffers.

Before he was sworn in a month ago, securities experts anticipated Atkins’ tenure would be marked by a hands-off regulatory approach. And now, there are even fewer hands around.

In a speech before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on Tuesday, Atkins said the SEC has reduced headcount by 15% since the start of fiscal 2025. He noted that “many” staffers “took advantage” of early retirement and voluntary separation options the Trump administration offered government employees, including efforts like the “Fork in the Road” buyout program.

He noted that at peak headcount a year ago, the SEC had approximately 5,000 employees and 2,000 contractors. Now, the agency is “at approximately 4,200 employees and 1,700 contractors,” he said.

But despite saying the agency needs to fill some open positions, when speaking to Congress the same day, Atkins defended cuts to staffing at the agency, saying the SEC is still able to protect markets.

For more on the impact of SEC cuts, click here.—NP

It’s time to answer some questions, for the sake of the future of the accounting profession.

The Accounting MOVE Project, which researches diverse workforce representation in accounting, has announced its 2025 survey is open to participants.

But this year has a unique twist that reflects the precarious situation that companies are navigating.

Acknowledging the ongoing political attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the latest iteration of the annual survey “reflects a pivotal shift in how inclusion is measured—prioritizing workplace belonging and measurable career equity outcomes, regardless of whether firms use the term ‘DEI,’” according to a news release.

In other words, researchers will analyze “a broader range of firm cultures” from those that embrace DEI and those that avoid the term, but still “create environments where all employees can thrive.”

Click here to keep reading about the MOVE survey.—AZ

OpenAI, which was founded as a nonprofit, has halted its drift toward full for-profit-dom—for now.

The company recently announced that its nonprofit board would remain in control as it restructures its for-profit arm to a public benefit corporation, like Anthropic and xAI, which will allow it to issue stock.

OpenAI had previously announced its aim to convert to a public benefit corporation in a way that would have untethered it from the nonprofit board’s oversight. The about-face came amid pressure from an ex-employee campaign, a lawsuit from Elon Musk, and “constructive dialogue” with the offices of the California and Delaware attorneys general, as OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor put it.

Rose Chan Loui, a nonprofit law expert at UCLA who has followed this case closely, said the sudden reversal was unexpected despite the growing public concern about the move.

“Honestly, I was surprised,” Chan Loui, founding executive director of the Lowell Milken Center on Philanthropy and Nonprofits, told Tech Brew. “I’m glad they’re listening, and I’m hoping that it also indicates that the current nonprofit board is truly trying to figure out how to fulfill their purpose and at the same time how to get what they need in terms of the marketplace.”

Click here to keep reading Tech Brew’s story on OpenAI’s status.—PK