The number of accountancy trainees currently studying towards a qualification in the UK’s largest firms has levelled off at just over 19,700, according to Accountancy Daily’s annual Top 75 accountancy firm survey. This is a similar figure to last year’s survey, which itself was down marginally on the 2019 survey, when the number hit 19,887, the highest to be recorded in the annual surveys.

The news comes as firms grapple with the challenges of providing high quality training during the Coivd-19 pandemic, with initial disruption coming at a pivotal time for those who were expecting to be taken on as a trainee.