Written cases
The full exercise: data pack, analysis, slides and presentation under time pressure. It is the stage most candidates meet cold on the day.
Firm guides / Big 4 strategy
Big 4 strategy in the Middle East
The largest hirers in the region, and the option most candidates treat as a backup. How Monitor Deloitte, EY-Parthenon, KPMG and PwC Consulting recruit here, how the bar really differs from MBB, and who should target them. Strategy&, which sits in the PwC network but recruits separately, has its own guide.
The Big 4 employ more consultants in the Middle East than every strategy firm combined, and they are hiring the most. For a candidate, that is the whole argument: less prestige, a slightly lower bar, and many more seats.
The important distinction, and the one candidates get wrong in interviews, is between a network's dedicated strategy practice and its wider consulting business. They are different businesses with different work, different pay and different interviews, and at PwC they are separate firms entirely.
| Network | Dedicated strategy arm | What it competes for | The wider consulting business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deloitte | Monitor Deloitte | Corporate and growth strategy, market entry, M&A strategy, competitive positioning. Formed from the 2013 acquisition of Monitor Group | Technology, transformation, operations, risk, human capital |
| EY | EY-Parthenon | Commercial due diligence, private equity, transaction strategy, education. Parthenon was acquired in 2014 and has kept a distinct culture | Transactions, technology, transformation, tax and assurance-adjacent advisory |
| KPMG | Strategy practice inside Advisory | Deal advisory, operating model, cost and performance improvement, public sector strategy | Deal advisory, risk, technology, government advisory |
| PwC | None inside PwC Consulting | PwC Middle East Consulting competes on transformation, technology, government advisory and deals, and runs its own recruiting process | This is the consulting practice itself. It is a large, separate business from Strategy& |
PwC is the exception, and candidates get this wrong constantly. Strategy& is not PwC's in-house strategy team in the way Monitor Deloitte sits inside Deloitte. It is a separate brand with its own offices, its own partners, its own recruiting process, its own interview format and its own pay scale, and it has been in the region since long before the PwC acquisition. PwC Middle East Consulting is a different business with a different application. Applying to one does not put you in the running for the other, and the two processes look nothing alike: Strategy& runs no online test and market sizing heavy cases, while PwC Consulting runs a conventional Big 4 process. Decide which you are targeting and apply to it directly.
If you apply to a strategy arm, say so and know its name. Candidates who talk about "Deloitte" in a Monitor Deloitte interview signal that they have not understood what they applied to.
The recruiting process
Two to three rounds is typical, and the process varies by office and level more than at MBB. What is consistent is that Big 4 strategy processes use formats the strategy firms rarely do.
- Application and CV screen. The most competitive step, as everywhere.
- Online assessments at graduate level. Several Big 4 graduate programmes use psychometric or numerical tests before interviews; confirm with your recruiter, since this varies by firm and office.
- First round. Behavioural and case interviews with consultants, managers or senior managers. Candidates interviewing with Monitor Deloitte in Dubai have reported a written case study at this stage.
- Second round. Frequently includes a group case with other candidates, an assessment-centre format used across EMEA.
- Partner round. Usually the closer, and usually weighted to fit rather than case.
Two formats to practise that MBB will not prepare you for. The written case, where you work from a data pack and present findings, and the group case, where four to six candidates work a problem together while assessors watch the dynamics. Most candidates meet both for the first time on the day. In a group case the failure modes are symmetrical: dominating the discussion, or going quiet to avoid dominating it.
What the case is actually like here
Cases at the strategy arms are candidate-led, as at BCG and Bain, and the content is recognisable: market entry, growth, profitability, M&A. The assessment is generally less strict than at MBB, with more tolerance for a slower start or an imperfect structure, provided your thinking holds up.
Two firm-specific points are worth knowing. EY-Parthenon leans heavily on commercial due diligence and private equity, so expect acquisition evaluation, value creation levers and comfort with multiples, particularly for deal-focused roles. Monitor Deloitte runs closer to classic corporate strategy, and its own guidance to candidates is that preparation should look more like BCG or Bain preparation than general Big 4 preparation.
In this region, add the same overlay that applies at every firm: heavy public sector exposure, and clients buying delivery rather than advice.
Where candidates lose
- Treating it as a fallback. The single most common reason for rejection at the strategy arms. The case bar is closer to MBB than the reputation suggests, and interviewers can tell when a candidate has not prepared.
- Not driving a candidate-led case. Presenting a framework then waiting for the interviewer is interviewer-led behaviour in a candidate-led process.
- The group case. Assessors are watching how you build on others, not how much airtime you take.
- A vague "why this firm". Not knowing the difference between the strategy arm and the wider consulting practice, or why you want the former, is disqualifying at partner round.
- Weak transaction fundamentals at EY-Parthenon. For deal-focused roles, not being able to discuss due diligence or value creation is fatal.
Pay, prestige and volume: the honest trade
Big 4 strategy pays roughly 25 to 35% below MBB at equivalent levels in this region. Within each firm, the strategy arm generally pays above the wider consulting practice.
What you get in exchange is scale. The Big 4 run far larger regional operations than the strategy firms and hire in much greater volume, so there are simply many more seats. The work at the strategy arms overlaps substantially with Tier 2 firms, and on public sector programmes you will often find both on the same client.
How to think about the trade. If your goal is the MBB brand for exit options, Big 4 strategy is a step down and you should be honest with yourself about that. If your goal is to do strategy work in this region, build a track record and stay, the gap narrows considerably, and you will get there through a less competitive process. What you should not do is apply as an afterthought: that is exactly how candidates fail here.
Who should target Big 4 strategy
- Candidates from non-target schools, where the volume of hiring and the wider net make a real difference
- Experienced hires with sector depth, especially in public sector, financial services, energy or technology, which the Big 4 hire for directly
- Anyone targeting deals work, where EY-Parthenon and KPMG deal advisory offer more exposure than a generalist strategy firm
- Candidates who want to stay in the region long term, given how embedded these firms are with government clients
- Anyone running a serious process, as part of a target list of eight to twelve firms rather than MBB alone
Big 4 cases in our case bank
Our 135+ cases and prompts include the case types the Big 4 strategy arms use in this region, alongside written case and group case practice. Our coaches run both formats, which candidates rarely get to rehearse anywhere else.
How we prepare candidates for Big 4 strategy
Our coaches are ex-MBB Senior Managers and Associate Partners who led interviewing and recruiting for their firms in this region.
Group cases
Run with other candidates so you learn where the line sits between contributing and dominating, which is exactly what assessors score.
A "why this firm" that holds
Knowing the strategy arm from the wider practice, and having a specific reason for choosing it, is what carries the partner round.
Common questions
Is Big 4 strategy the same as Big 4 consulting?
No, and the distinction matters in interviews. Monitor Deloitte and EY-Parthenon are dedicated strategy practices that compete with MBB and Tier 2 firms for strategy mandates. The wider consulting arms do transformation, technology, risk and finance work. The strategy arms interview closer to MBB, and generally pay above the wider practice.
What is the Big 4 strategy interview process?
Typically two to three rounds. Cases are candidate-led. Written case exercises and group cases are far more common than at MBB, and a partner fit interview usually closes the process. Candidates interviewing with Monitor Deloitte in Dubai have reported a written case in the first round and a group case in the second.
How does Big 4 strategy pay compare with MBB in the Gulf?
Roughly 25 to 35% below MBB at equivalent levels. Within each firm, the strategy arm generally pays above the wider consulting practice.
Is Big 4 strategy easier to get into than MBB?
The assessment is typically less strict and the firms hire in far greater volume, so the odds are better. But the case bar at the strategy arms specifically is closer to MBB than most candidates expect, and treating the interview as a fallback is the most common reason people are rejected.
Is Strategy& the same as PwC Consulting?
No. They are two separate businesses within the PwC network. Strategy& has its own brand, offices, partners, recruiting process and pay scale, and its interviews look nothing like a Big 4 process: no online test, and market sizing heavy cases. PwC Middle East Consulting runs a conventional Big 4 process covering transformation, technology, government advisory and deals. Applying to one is not applying to the other.
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