Top 75 Firms Trainees Survey 2025: tech threats and funding cuts

Contributing editor, Business & Accountancy Daily

13 Oct 2025

In this month’s exclusive Top 75 Trainees Survey, EY takes top slot as the largest accountancy trainer, pushing out PwC, but twin threats of AI and funding cuts loom large, despite overall numbers hitting nearly 27,000. Philip Smith analyses the current trends and future risks

There are currently a record number of trainees studying to become fully qualified accountants among the top 75 UK accountancy firms, latest Top 75 figures reveal. However, future growth looks uncertain as the impact of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, and a reduction in government apprenticeship subsidies are forcing firms to review their trainee recruitment programmes.

This year’s exclusive Business & Accountancy Daily Top 75 UK Firms survey showed there are currently 26,778 trainees qualifying at the country’s leading firms. This is 8% higher than last year’s survey, and some 74% more than the numbers recorded 10 years ago.

Over the past decade, the growth in the number of trainees has reflected the buoyant accountancy sector as total fee income has risen from £12.01bn in 2014 to £23.23bn in 2024. The increase in training contracts has been more marked in recent years, as the post-covid boom in professional services has encouraged the Top 75 firms to take on more trainees than ever before.

As one would expect, the Big Four firms of EY, PwC, KPMG and Deloitte account for the lion’s share of trainees, and their ranking as trainers has shifted. EY is now the leading training firm, overtaking PwC, followed by KPMG, albeit having cut trainee numbers by 12% this year, then Deloitte.

Collectively, they are home to 12,771 trainees, representing 48% of all training contracts. But, in a warning to the rest of the market, this figure was actually down 5% on the previous year’s 13,466.

Top 75 total trainees

At a time when the Big Four firms are announcing rounds of redundancies, this is not surprising, nor is the news that new trainees are being asked to delay their joining dates.

Only one of the Big Four – EY – saw an increase in trainees, boosting their numbers by 9% to hit 3,559, up from 3,257, which meant the firm moved into number one spot.

The most dramatic decline in trainee numbers was at PwC, which dropped into second place, with a 15% decrease to 3,316 trainees, compared to the previous year’s 3,898.

Third on the trainee league table was KPMG, which reported a 12% drop in trainee numbers from 2,959 to 2,932. Rounding off the Big Four was Deloitte with trainee numbers virtually unchanged, down by only 1%, from 2,959 to 2,932.

The mixed news is replicated among the firms immediately below the Big Four. BDO saw a reduction of 2%, while Grant Thornton fell by 9%. However, RSM, Azets and Forvis Mazars all increased their number of trainees.

‘After a slowdown in 2020 due to the pandemic, we experienced several bumper years of hiring between 2021 and 2023,’ says Jo Ritchie, head of learning innovation at Grant Thornton. ‘While hiring volumes have since reduced, they are now more in line with pre-pandemic levels, reflecting a more sustainable and balanced approach to workforce planning.’

But despite this, Ritchie maintains that the firm remains committed to training the next generation of accountants. ‘Our commitment to early careers remains stronger than ever,’ she says.

‘We’re investing more in early-identification programmes than we ever have before. Increasing numbers of early careers talent are joining us through work experience initiatives like Ignite and Access Accountancy, our summer internship and 12-month placement programmes, and then converting on to our graduate and school leaver pathways.’

The firms do recognise their role to provide this next generation of finance talent. As Louise Sayers, head of people for BDO’s audit practice, says: ‘Our view is that we have an obligation to the business world to make sure that we are training accountants of the future. It’s part of our business model, it’s what we expect.’

Sayers warns that if all the firms pull back from training large numbers of accountants, then there will be a shortage of professionals who can go on to become the CFOs, even CEOs, of the future.

‘So, there may be a shift in the numbers, but we do see it as fundamentally important that we are still contributing to that business need, to be able to supply accountants, auditors, tax advisers and consultants into the business world,’ Sayers stressed.

Click here to download the Top 75 Firms Trainees Survey 2025 league tables and salary trends

Top 20 training firms

Multiple threats to trainee numbers

There are a number of forces at play that could see the number of trainees fall in the future – efficiencies driven primarily by the increasing use of technology could see a fall in demand for qualified accountants, and this would appear to be gathering pace.

First, there is the bedding in of robotic process automation, while the increasing use of generative AI and now the advent of agentic AI, will see end-to-end processes carried out with little or no human intervention – autonomously planned, reasoned and executed multi-step processes that can carry out a work stream far quicker than a human.

And it is these steps – the more mundane, routine, processes – that in the past would have formed an integral part of a trainee’s education and work experience. This is where the grave threat lies.

That said, firms are quick to point out the positives about new technology.

‘When you’re not having to do lots of manual tasks, then you’ve got the ability to have more insight and have more oversight rather than being in there in the detail of everything, and you’re able to look at work differently,’ says Mags Laidlaw, head of talent and culture at Forvis Mazars.

Natasha Frangos, managing partner at HaysMac, agrees. ‘This is a big topic of discussion for the firm,’ she says, ‘and we are using lots of tools in the business that have AI embedded in them, including Inflo, our audit software, for example.’

It is an area of increasing focus for the firm, particularly on how it can have a direct impact on training. ‘Our teams are being trained as they are doing the job,’ explains Frangos. ‘There’s AI in all of the technology that they’re using to deliver the service to the client, but it is not just AI for the sake of AI.’

However, Frangos stresses that the continuing need for human input remains – the firm might have bots doing bank reconciliations, but the team still needs to understand what a bank reconciliation is and how it works.

‘You need that valuable training to then be able to test the accuracy of what the tech is doing, but what it also means is that it is going to create time and space for you to focus on the much more interesting bit, which is speaking to clients, understanding the businesses and really standing back and understanding the numbers,’ says Frangos.

‘AI upskilling is now a core focus,’ adds Ritchie. ‘While many of us are comfortable using AI in our personal lives, we’re investing in helping our people understand how to use it confidently and ethically at work to drive efficiency, enhance decision-making and unlock new value.’

As a result Grant Thornton’s training programme is adapting to cater for these new demands.

‘Training is evolving rapidly to meet the demands of a more dynamic, digital workplace,’ explains Ritchie. ‘Our programmes are designed to be agile and responsive – ensuring people can access the right learning at the right time and trust that it is current and relevant.

‘We’re looking to embed adaptive learning technologies, on-demand content and AI-powered platforms to personalise the experience and support learning in the flow of work.’

The emphasis on these new skills is inevitably having an impact on the attributes the firms are looking for in their trainees, and how they assess applications.

‘We’re looking for more than just academic achievement,’ Ritchie says. ‘Our focus is on potential, on identifying individuals who are curious, resilient and eager to learn. We value strong communication skills, adaptability and a collaborative mindset. Increasingly, we’re also looking for digital fluency and a willingness to engage with emerging technologies.’

At HaysMac it is a similar story, though Frangos adds that the firm is also looking for potential recruits who are team workers and have a good collaboration and communication skills.

‘For trainee recruitment, this emphasis on having a bit more of an all-round knowledge and ability is going to be important as well. And I think employers are going to want to see that.’

But nevertheless, the advent of new technologies is creating a high degree of uncertainty. As Sayers says: ‘The world is uncertain. What happens to an entity during its business life in a particular financial year has uncertainty in it, so an audit and the judgments that come through an audit and consultancy services also have some uncertainty in it as well.’

Government funding cuts hit accountancy trainees

Adding to the uncertainty, the UK government recently announced that it would scrap funding for over-21s taking the Level 7 apprenticeship route to an accountancy qualification.

The uptake of apprenticeship schemes in accountancy has been widely regarded as a success story in recent years, so many believe the move is a backwards step, especially in terms of improving access to the profession and recruiting talent from as wide a pool as possible.

Confirming the switch to a younger target audience for apprentices, the government said it was ‘refocusing funding away from Level 7 (masters-level) apprenticeships from January 2026, while maintaining support for those aged 16-21 and existing apprentices’.

The move had been trailed by the PM Keir Starmer last year, so the profession knew it was coming, but the details still need to be confirmed. Even so, the move to exclude those aged 22 and above from Level 7 funding (accountancy qualifications also fit into the Level 4 and Level 6 apprenticeship schemes) is a negative move.

Frangos says: ‘We are great users of Level 7 and the fact that it’s not going to be available for those aged 22 and above is a problem because the majority of our graduate recruits are 22 and over.

‘We’ve looked and while you might think most would actually be 21, a lot of them are doing a year out or a four-year course and are 22 when they join us, and so they won’t be eligible. So, we’re now working with our peers and also taking it to the institutes and exploring our options.’

Gemma Gathercole, strategic engagement lead at ACCA recognises that the government has to make tough choices with its education budget.

‘The government wants to expand apprenticeships to smaller courses, more of what they’ve called foundation apprenticeships, and also focus it more on younger people, so [Level 7] therefore is the casualty of them not having enough money to spend on apprenticeships,’ says Gathercole.

‘But it is a pretty sad situation for those of us that have endorsed apprenticeships for some time as a good route into professional occupations.’

Gathercole adds that open access is very important for organisations such as ACCA. ‘We want routes into the profession completely independent of age stage or prior qualification. So, this move quite heavily restricts young people who might be interested in going on to an apprenticeship in terms of how they might want to pursue that journey.

‘Their peers that might want to go to university for example, could take a gap year and have no consideration of what time they start and whether that would affect their potential for university funding arrangements.

‘Whereas if you are considering the apprenticeship route, if you take a gap year, you are at risk of missing the opportunity to get that as a funded programme.’

There are currently nearly 15,000 trainees classed as apprentices in the Top 75 accountancy firms, according to the Business & Accountancy Daily survey. That is up on the 13,000 in last year’s survey, an increase of 15%, and the highest level since the survey began collecting apprenticeship data.

The firms see apprenticeship schemes as an important part of their trainee recruitment programmes as they seek to create a more diverse workforce, with a mix of school leavers and graduates training as accountancy professionals.

One such school leaver is Harry Woodley, who joined Forvis Mazars from school when he was 18. ‘It’s been an incredibly valuable experience so far,’ Woodley says. ‘I chose this route because I wanted to gain practical experience while working towards my qualifications.

‘Forvis Mazars has supported me every step of the way, offering structured development, a clear pathway to becoming a chartered accountant, and a dedicated support team and network. I’ve grown both professionally and personally thanks to the opportunities and mentoring that I’ve received.

‘I’m excited to keep building on my development so far and see where the journey takes me next.’

Is it worth it?

So, what can trainees expect to earn once they have qualified? According to the latest salary survey from Hays, the recruitment consultancy, a newly qualified accountant could expect an average of £48,250 if they were to move into business, moving up to £55,650 if they make the move a few years after qualifying.

Part qualified accountancy trainees can expect an average of £33,750. A new trainee studying for the ICAEW qualification would receive an average of £25,650, though much will depend on the size of firm and location.

But there is a renewed pressure on salaries with the Hays figures showing a 5.3% drop in salaries for part qualified ICAEW accountants, down from £32,083 in 2024 to £30,375 in 2025. This figure is even down on the 2023 average of £30,500.

There has also been a decline in salary expectations for part qualified CIMA accountants, with a 2.2% drop from £35,125 to £34,350 in 2025.

However, those taking ACCA and CIPFA qualifications at the same level have not been hit in the same way, with ACCA PQs looking at average salary of £37,250, up 5.9% on 2024, and substantially up on the 2023 average of £32,800. Likewise, CIPFA PQs have seen a 7.5% increase to £33,000, albeit from a lower base figure of £30,700.

What is starkly clear from the Hays figures is that ICAEW PQs are now trailing ACCA and CIMA compatriots, which raises questions for the future.

Hays salaries by qualification

For qualified accountants, once again ACAs are seeing a decline in salaries from an average £41,200 in 2024 to £36,500 this year. By contrast expectations for ACCA and CIMA accountants are looking much better, with qualified ACCA accountants likely to earn an average £46,700, up from £41,600 in 2024, and the CIMA cohort £44,500, up from £41,400.

Newly qualified accountants can expect to earn an average £48,250, with the best prospects financially in corporates at £51,200, up 3.5% year on year, and in SMEs £45,300, although these businesses are paying less with salaries down 5.3% in 2025, returning to 2023 levels.

But reflecting the talent shortage, once accountants have two to three years work under their belts, salaries start to shoot up to an average £55,650. For those working in corporates the average is £57,800, up 4.5% year on year, and in SMEs it is £53,500, up 2.26%.

Hays salaries by qualification

Source: Hays Accounting & Finance salary survey

Which institute?

Despite signs of a salary squeeze, ICAEW continues to be the institute of choice for trainees – some 14,520 are currently studying towards an ACA qualification in the Top 75 firms. Some 2,786 are studying through ICAS, while 1,243 are studying through ACCA.

Qualification split 2025

In recent years, the institutes have developed their syllabuses to take into account modern ways of working, in particular the growing use of technology, while also seeking to provide a qualification that is more relevant to today’s businesses.

With the pressures from AI, firms and professional bodies are determined to keep accountancy qualifications one of the top choices for both school leavers and graduates. A shortage of qualified staff faced across the board only underscores the importance of training the accountants of the future.