Despite an insatiable demand for trainee positions at the UK’s top accountancy firms, the number of student accountants currently doing their training has plateaued following a period of considerable growth.

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. Despite rising fee income, this year’s total is down 1% from 19,887 in the previous survey. This is the first drop in numbers since 2013 when firms were contending with the fallout from the financial crisis.

In the previous six years, the number of trainees rose steadily, in part fuelled by the growth in apprenticeship and school leaver programmes as the firms grappled with the thorny issues of access to the profession, social mobility and lack of diversity in their ranks.