Docklands bank following auditor’s guide (8)
I believe the answer is:
quayside
'auditor's guide' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'docklands bank following' is the wordplay.
'docklands' becomes 'quay' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'bank' becomes 'side' (synonyms).
'following' says to put letters next to each other.
'quay'+'side'='QUAYSIDE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for quayside that I've seen before include "Where the boats moor" , "Wharf and its surrounds" , "Landing" , "Edge of wharf" , "where loads are lightened" .)