Difference between PwC (Consulting) and Strategy&?

Question

Hello,

How are PwC (Consulting) and Strategy& in the Middle East different (in terms of types of projects)?

Answer 1

Hey there - having worked with the teams at both firms (whilst at S& on projects in the Middle East), I can shed some light here.

Overall, the biggest difference is Strategy& (as the name would suggest) emphasises working on strategy projects. PwC is more geared towards operations, technology, finance consulting (+ due diligence work and M&A post-merger integration).

At the same time, Strategy& does also do work around operations improvement and tech transformation for clients, and so you do find the two firms sometimes competing on the same projects.

However, there is a stepchange in the access S& has to the client exec team and C-suite vs PwC as well as the reputation within this part of the hierarchy.

Some more information can be found here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-differentiates-strategy-from-the-mbbs-and-other-tier-2-firms-9301

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/strategy-6445

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/ft-offer-ow-dubai-vs-strategy-deals-9066

Answer 2

Hi there,

PwC in general works on more management consulting/implementation-style projects while Strategy& is in the strategy consulting space.

Of course, Strategy& is one of the most prestigious strategy consulting firms in the region.

Answer 3

Hello,

Here are my thoughts on how these both differ:

1) Market positioning: S& positions themselves as a pure management consulting firm and compete with MBB based on price, scope of work, etc. PwC, on the other hand, offer much more broader services e.g. implementation support along with consulting work

2) Scope of work: S& = Strategy typically. PwC = Can include many other forms of consulting e.g. Risk Consulting, HR Consulting, IT consulting etc

3) Salary: Because S& charges their clients higher fees than PwC, they also pay higher salaries than PwC. S& salaries in some regions (like the middle east) are also higher than that of MBB

4) Brand: PwC is typically seen as a Financial Services company that does Audit, Tax and some Consulting services. Strategy& is clearly seen as a MC firm, but its brand name might be stronger in some parts of the world than other.

All the best!

Rushabh