In response to an ongoing decline in advisory work, the Big Four accounting firms have eliminated 1,100 entry-level roles in the UK over the past two years.
PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY are some of the biggest recruiters of graduates in the UK, bringing in thousands of entry-level accountants and consultants each year. But their combined intake of graduates and apprentices has fallen from 6,500 in 2023 to 5,400 this year.
However, the decline has slowed. Deloitte and EY have kept entry-level hires steady at 1,500 and 1,600 respectively, but recruited 400 fewer people than two years ago. KPMG is expected to bring in around 1,000 new hires this year, compared with nearly 1,400 in 2023.
Only PwC has cut entry-level hires this year: it took on 1,500 graduates and school-leavers in 2004 and 1,300 in 2025. The number of entry-level hires it has made has also fallen by 20 per cent over the past two years. According to PwC’s senior partner, Marco Amitrano, the biggest reason for its lower graduate intake this year was the UK’s economic backdrop — and the resulting slowdown in investment, hiring and dealmaking.
Competition for graduate roles in the financial and professional services sector is at a record level in the UK: there are now 140 applications for every job in the two sectors, according to the Institute of Student Employers; and while vacancies in entry-level roles in all sectors increased 4 per cent this year, there were 5 per cent fewer vacancies in financial and professional services.
Accountancy firms are scaling back graduate recruitment as part of a wider effort to trim headcount and protect profits. PwC was the first Big Four firm to release its financial results this year. These showed the average UK partner’s pay has edged up amidst a year of job cuts and cost control at the firm.
Partners took home an average of £865,000 for the year ended June 30, 2025, up from £862,000. During this year, headcount fell by more than 2,000 across its UK, Middle East and Channel Islands businesses, from 36,006 to 33,770.
PwC said it “took the tough decision to reduce roles in some areas” but overall spending on pay and promotions was in line with last year. It attributed a 20 per cent growth in profits to £1.37 billion to “operational transformation and considered cost management”.
Deloitte, EY and KPMG are due to release their financial performance in the coming weeks.
Tough market conditions are not the only factor, however. In particular, AI has reduced the demand for entry-level roles, automating tasks that junior staff performed. In response, the bosses at the Big Four have stepped up AI training for their entry-level staff and shifted graduate schemes to focus on higher-value activities.
A KPMG spokesperson said the firm’s graduates and apprentices will “start to learn about the new technology and AI tools available from the moment they start”. There is a growing emphasis on “skills including effective communication and critical thinking that unlock the potential of AI”, they added.
Managing partner for audit and assurance at Deloitte UK, Allee Bonnard, said AI can speed up learning for new trainees. That will enable them to take on more meaningful tasks earlier in their careers.
Chief executive of professional services research firm source, Fiona Czerniawska, said: “The value of the audit is what you bring around it in terms of business knowledge and being able to interpret the numbers, so that’s something firms can start training people in much earlier”.
But she also warned firms that they should make sure they did not “overshoot and take out too many people”.
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