According to the exclusive Accountancy Daily annual Top 75 trainees survey, there are now 19,700 aspiring accountants on the books of the Top 75 firms but despite rising fee income, this year’s total is down 1% from 19,887 year on year.

As with revenue share, the Big Four firms - Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC - dominate the market with nearly two-thirds (63%) of all trainees. Even at these powerhouses of the accounting world numbers are down to 12,535, from 12,884 in a year.