Most candidates prepare the group case as a performance and the inbox as a writing test. Assessors do not. On a combination day they score the same thing twice: can you make an attributable decision under a clock, then leave an owner and a next update someone else can act on.
The group case makes collaboration visible; the inbox makes judgment visible when nobody is watching you perform. Pass both by treating them as one scoring system with two clocks. After this piece you should run a 25-minute group budget and a 20-minute inbox triage without inventing a new method for each. Your invitation still outranks every guide.
What firms actually say they run
Group and in-tray tasks live in early-careers assessment centers and job simulations, not in most strategy-firm case rounds. Primary pages as of September 2026:
| Firm (public page) | Format the page names | Group or inbox signal |
|---|---|---|
| EY Australia student hub | Recruitment day; group of two to four on a fictional case; "no single correct answer" | Explicit group |
| Deloitte UK early careers | Job Simulation: ranking, selection, written, video; Final Stage is topic discussion plus skills interview | Written/video listed; classic e-tray not on the current UK page |
| PwC UK assessments | In-tray: "sort, prioritise and take action" on pieces of information | Explicit in-tray |
| PwC UK early careers | Virtual immersive assessment center; up to five other candidates | Group day named; exercises not itemized |
| KPMG UK Launch Pad | In-person half day of assessed and non-assessed activities | Combination day; exact exercises in the invite |
EY's "no single correct answer" is how the sheet is built, not soft branding. Deloitte UK's Final Stage is not a classic five-person group case; a Job Simulation invite means triage and concise writing. Treat Glassdoor e-tray stories as folklore until your invite confirms them.
The group-case playbook (brief)
Deeper observer grids live in the group case interview guide. Short version for a combination day: the observer is not grading the group's cleverness. She has two names and a behavior grid. She writes while you talk, then tags lines to rows. A blank row is "not observed," and that does not get argued up later.
| She can tag | She cannot tag |
|---|---|
| You named the decision and the metric that settles it | A long opinion with no decision |
| You brought one number that changed the recommendation | Repeating a figure already on the table |
| You built on a named person's point | Interrupting to restate your own |
| You called time and forced a recommendation | Opening a new thread in the last five minutes |
Talk-time budget. Common format: 30 minutes, five candidates, ~25 minutes of talk after reading. Parity is five minutes each (~700 words at 140 words a minute, ten to twelve turns of 30–45 seconds). Aim slightly above: six minutes, ~840 words, spread across the session. Below 10 percent of airtime and rows stay blank; above 40 percent and collaboration fills with the wrong evidence. Those bands are my estimate, not a published firm rule.
Ned's rule. If the observer cannot quote your line and put a name on it, it did not happen. Speak in moves that fit a row: decision, number, build, challenge, close.
Worked group example: HarborLine freight deferral
Prompt. HarborLine must decide whether to defer a €2.4m warehouse automation spend by twelve months. Four candidates; exhibits on utilization, overtime, churn risk, and a vendor quote. Twenty-five minutes to recommend defer, proceed, or pilot one aisle.
Minute 0–2. "Defer, proceed, or one-aisle pilot. The metric is whether overtime and churn over twelve months cost more than financing the spend now."
Minute 6. "Utilization is 91 percent weekdays, 62 percent Saturday. Overtime is Friday spillover. Deferral does not create overtime; Friday capacity does."
Minute 14. "Maya's note: two retail accounts exit in 90 days if on-time falls below 96 percent. That is the real cost of deferral, not the overtime line."
Minute 22. "Pilot one aisle for €480k. Buys Friday capacity without locking €2.4m. Revisit when on-time stays above 96 percent for a quarter. Risk: vendor price up 8 percent if the rest slips past June."
Attributable turns. The observer can file structuring, data, collaboration, and outcome. The group's "right" answer matters less than tags next to your name.
The inbox playbook: prioritize under a clock
PwC describes an in-tray as sorting, prioritizing, and taking action on pieces of information. That is the skill. Prose elegance is secondary. Score drivers: protect the irreversible decision first, leave an owner, time the next update.
Four filters in order — C-D-D-R: consequence, deadline, dependency, reversibility.
| Filter | Question | Strong evidence | Weak shortcut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consequence | What breaks if this waits? | Names the client decision or trust hit | Treats every flagged item as equal |
| Deadline | When does action become irreversible? | States the decision point, not arrival time | Sorts by inbox order |
| Dependency | Who is blocked by your answer? | Unblocks the next owner | Finishes easy admin first |
| Reversibility | Can the first move be corrected? | Temporary hold while facts are checked | Permanent claim on incomplete data |
Clock budget for a 20-minute e-tray (adjust to your invite):
| Minutes | Job |
|---|---|
| 0–3 | Skim all items; mark C-D-D-R; do not reply yet |
| 3–6 | Rank three actions with one-line rationale |
| 6–14 | Highest-consequence reply first (action, evidence, owner, next update) |
| 14–18 | Second reply or later-handoff acknowledgment |
| 18–20 | Scan for traps (wrong date, conflicting figures, missing attachment) |
If the platform asks you to rank options instead of write free text, same filters: protect the irreversible decision; check before you claim. Deloitte's Job Simulation lists ranking, selection, written, and video responses; it does not publish a universal timer — use the on-screen clock.
Worked inbox example: Northbridge retail forecast
Setting. 09:05. Partner presents the Q3 forecast to the CFO at 12:00. Twenty minutes, five messages.
- Client CFO (08:41). "Does the forecast include the discontinued HomeKitchen line? Need clarity before noon."
- Engagement manager (08:55). "Polish appendix fonts for tomorrow's internal rehearsal."
- Teammate Raj (08:58). "Availability for client dinner next Thursday?"
- Data lead (09:02). "Source file still lists HomeKitchen. I can drop it in 15 minutes if you confirm."
- HR (08:30). "Timesheet reminder; due Friday."
Rank (C-D-D-R).
| Priority | Item | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CFO + Data lead | Wrong scope changes the noon decision; fixable in 15 minutes once confirmed |
| 2 | Engagement manager | Tomorrow, reversible, no client dependency today |
| 3 | Raj | Social, no decision |
| 4 | HR | Friday, no client consequence |
Reply by 09:25 (illustrative):
Subject: HomeKitchen scope — confirming drop by 09:30
I am checking whether HomeKitchen is still in the Q3 forecast because it would change the noon CFO number. Data lead can remove the line within fifteen minutes once I confirm. Please hold the forecast slide until 09:30; I will send a corrected figure or confirmation that the line was already excluded, and copy you.
Action, consequence, owner, timed update. No claim the number is clean before the check runs.
The combination day: same sheet, two fatigue traps
KPMG Launch Pad and PwC's immersive assessment center run as half-days with assessed and non-assessed blocks. EY's recruitment day stacks interview, group, and networking. The failure mode is carrying the wrong mode into the next exercise.
| Trap | What it looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Group hangover into inbox | Collaborative hedges ("we might want to consider") in a solo reply | First person: I will check, I will send by |
| Inbox hangover into group | You monopolize airtime after twenty minutes alone | Return to the talk-time band; invite a specific check |
| Networking as assessed | Coffee chat becomes a second interview | One genuine question; leave when the next block starts |
| Energy cliff | Third exercise gets half the structure of the first | One-line template: decision / evidence / owner / next update |
Between blocks, sixty seconds: close the last exercise, reread instructions, write the output type at the top of the page. The sheet does not care that you were sharp an hour ago.
Practice this week
- Twenty-minute timer. Invent five emails with mixed consequence. Rank with C-D-D-R; write one reply in under eight minutes (action, evidence, owner, next update).
- For the group side, one structured case out loud in 30–45 second turns. The structure drill and cases build the decision-and-metric habit. Everything is open for seven days, no card; then $120 for a recruiting season or $49 a month.
- If the invite names Deloitte Job Simulation, pair with the Deloitte Job Simulation guide and the assessment-center playbook.
Frequently asked questions
How is a group case different from a normal case interview?
In a one-on-one case the interviewer probes and redirects. In a group case the assessor mostly watches and writes. Your score is attributable behaviors tagged to your name, not whether the group found the "correct" answer. EY says there is no single correct answer; collaboration and how you conclude are the point.
What is an e-tray or in-tray exercise in consulting recruiting?
A timed task with emails, notes, or documents you must sort, prioritize, and act on. PwC's assessment page describes that job. Some firms fold similar judgment into online job simulations with ranking and written responses instead of a classic desktop inbox.
How long do I get for an inbox exercise?
Firms rarely publish a universal timer. Use the on-screen clock. For practice, twenty minutes with five to eight items works. Spend the first three minutes ranking before you write.
What if my teammates dominate the group case?
Short classifiable moves: frame early, one data challenge, invite a quiet person, close. Do not chase total airtime. Six minutes with four tagged moves beats twelve minutes of restating.
Does every Big Four assessment day include both a group and an inbox?
No. Deloitte UK's public Final Stage is a topic discussion and interview; Job Simulation lists written and video among other types. PwC names in-tray as a possible tool. EY Australia names a group activity. Read the invite for your office and year.
Sources
- EY Australia — Student program application hub — Recruitment day group activity of two to four students; no single correct answer. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Deloitte UK — Early Careers Assessment — Job Simulation response types (ranking, selection, written, video) and Final Stage format. Checked 2026-09-24.
- PwC UK — Assessments: what to expect — Official description of in-tray exercises: sort, prioritise, take action. Checked 2026-09-24.
- PwC UK — Assessment and selection process — Virtual immersive assessment center with up to five other candidates. Checked 2026-09-24.
- KPMG UK — Graduate application process / Launch Pad — In-person half-day assessed and non-assessed activities. Checked 2026-09-24.
CoachNed is not affiliated with EY, Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, or any firm named above. HarborLine and Northbridge examples are original practice, not live firm materials.