Strategy& vs. KPMG

Question

Hello together,

I now have my final offer from Strategy& and KPMG in Germany. At the moment, I'm trying to find out a little bit where exactly the differences are (besides the salary, which is not important for the decision).

At KPMG, I would be working in Finance Transformation. Here I understood that I would be doing all projects from controlling to forcecasting to SSC. A lot of work on client site.

At Strategy&, I would be in the Corporate & Business Strategy Team/Deals. Here I would be involved in both buy-side and sell-side projects. The team is still quite new in Germany, but it sounds like there are a lot of M&A and PE activities. Do you know how this differs from working in an M&A boutique? So where is the difference in strategy M&A advisory?

So in summary, I understand if I want to make an exit into a corporate later, KPMG might be more interesting with the finance background, while Strategy& would be super exciting if I want to go into PE or M&A after consulting. Do you agree with me or do you have other input for me?

I would really appreciate your input!

Answer 1

Hi there,

I honestly can't offer too much more in terms of specific content regarding these two specifically. That said, I recommend the following:

Pick up the phone and try to speak to a few consultants in both of these offices. Ask "hard" questions to get to the bottom of what the job really looks like.
Follow your gut/heart. A bit cheesy, but it's true. What genuinely interests you more? Finance Transformation or Corp & Biz sStrategy?
Pick your bosses/team. Equally as important as work content is the people. If one of these firms/units struck you as particularly friendly, supportive, or relatable i.e. you can see yourself working there, pick them!

Answer 2

Hello!

Gratulieren! Ich freue mich auf !!!

If strategy is what you target longer temr, I would honestly go with S&.

This said, both are pretty similar so I would try to check the fit.

Before COVID, I had a friend who had McK and BCG offers and asked to spend one day in each of the companies. This is why she choose McK and we met :)

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 3

First of all, congrats! Well done on have the choice of offers.

I may be biased here, but if you are looking to build a career working in / around strategy, S& will almost certainly present a closer opportunity (or easier) than KPMG in this situation.

Answer 4

Hi, first of all, congrats on the multiple offers! If you are serious about strategy consulting I would go with S&

Answer 5

I d take Strategy& any day over KPMG in that role and specifically for Germany. Have a lot of friends in Germany working there - great place - great exit options!