Most candidates build a private library of "Strategy& practice cases" before they ever open the material Strategy& and PwC already publish. That is backwards. The firm's own pages state the interview bar in plain language, and PwC US even posts two sample scenarios with Associate and Senior Associate response levels. Use those as the calibration set, then run one original Strategy&-style mini-case end to end so you know you can structure, read an exhibit, do the math, and commit.
By the end of this page you will know which official pages to work first, how Strategy& describes a good case performance, and how to drive one fully worked HarborChem make-versus-buy case with invented but consistent numbers. For the broader process map across PwC Advisory and Strategy&, see the PwC case interview guide.
Start with the pages the firms already publish
Strategy& and PwC are not silent about cases. They are just quieter than prep blogs pretend.
Strategy&'s business case prep page (Middle East careers) describes a process of three to four 45-minute interviews, each with a real-world case discussion. The guidance is specific: summarize the problem in your own words, take a minute of silence, propose a simple structure and wait for endorsement, stick to that structure, pause so the interviewer can course-correct, and toward the end take a stand even with incomplete data. The page also says there is no single right answer if the thought process is clear and the conclusion is logical.
PwC US Advisory goes further: it publishes two illustrative scenarios (digital transformation at a large financial institution; healthcare expansion via acquisition) and sample responses at Associate and Senior Associate levels. PwC states the case is typically 30 to 45 minutes inside a longer interview process, that there is no perfect answer, that AI is not permitted during the assessment and interview process, and that Associate responses are scored on clear structure and curiosity while Senior Associate responses are expected to show deeper judgment and trade-offs. Do not paste those scenarios into your notes as "solved." Work them yourself under a timer, then compare your structure and recommendation to the sample level that matches your target role.
Strategy& UK careers describe a first round that typically includes an unstructured consulting case and a structured case with a slide pack and about ten minutes of prep before recommendations. Formats vary by office and route. Treat the UK page as evidence that Strategy& will sometimes hand you a packet, not as a universal global script.
| Source | What it gives you | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy& ME business case prep | Process length, scoring cues, practice advice | Read once; turn each tip into a habit checklist |
| PwC US Advisory sample cases | Two scenarios plus leveled sample responses | Work blind, then grade yourself against the matching level |
| Strategy& UK graduates page | Unstructured + structured (slide pack) first round | Drill a 10-minute packet read before at least one mock |
I do not reproduce the official prompts or sample answers here. Reproduce them yourself from the source pages. The point of this article is what to do after that calibration.
What the interviewer is actually listening for
When I score a Strategy&-style case, I am not grading whether you named the "right" framework. I am grading whether you can run a short consulting conversation.
Strategy&'s own tips map cleanly onto a scoring sheet:
| Moment | What a strong candidate does | What loses points |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Restates the decision and constraint in one sentence | Restates the whole prompt without naming the ask |
| Structure | Two or three mutually exclusive branches, endorsed | Four overlapping buckets that never get tested |
| Drive | Picks one branch, asks for the exhibit that would falsify it | Circles themes without calling for data |
| Math | Clean units, states the implication before the next ask | Correct arithmetic with no client sentence attached |
| Close | Recommendation, one number, one risk, one next step | Summary of analysis with no decision |
Ned's rule. If Strategy& endorses your structure, treat that endorsement as a contract. Changing frameworks mid-case reads as panic, not flexibility. Course-correct on a branch; do not rebuild the tree.
That rule is why grinding eight unrelated prompts helps less than repeating three cases until your close is automatic. The firm publicly tells you to stick to the structure once it is endorsed. Practice that discipline.
One original Strategy&-style mini-case: HarborChem film make-versus-buy
Invented client, invented numbers, same shape as a live Strategy& discussion: decide, structure, read one exhibit, do the math, recommend.
Prompt. HarborChem is a mid-size European specialty chemical company. It sells coated packaging film to food brands. Today it buys all base film from three Asian converters and coats it in Belgium. Volume is 40,000 tonnes per year. The CEO wants to know whether HarborChem should build a €48 million extrusion line in Poland to make the base film in-house, or keep buying. You have 25 minutes. Should they build, and under what conditions?
Cover the worked path. Write your structure for two minutes first.
Structure a strong candidate would open with
Three testable branches, not a textbook make-versus-buy list:
- Unit economics. Does in-house film beat the landed cost of outsourced film at current volume, and by how much?
- Capacity and utilization. Can the Polish line fill enough of the 40,000 tonnes to earn its capital, and what happens if volume slips?
- Strategic risk. Supply security, quality control, and working capital versus the flexibility of three suppliers.
Ask for cost and service data before you debate strategy. That is the exhibit.
Exhibit: HarborChem base-film cost and service (invented)
| Option | Variable cost per tonne | Fixed cost per year | Effective capacity | On-time delivery | Quality rejects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy (current mix of 3 suppliers) | €1,150 landed | €0 incremental | Flexible | 92% | 1.8% |
| Build Poland line | €720 cash cost | €6.0M (labor, energy, maintenance) | 36,000 tonnes | 97% (modeled) | 0.9% |
Capex for the Poland line is €48M. HarborChem's hurdle for industrial projects is roughly a five-year simple payback before tax, which is folklore-level guidance you would confirm with the interviewer in a real case. Use it here as the decision rule the CEO stated.
Math you can reproduce
Step 1. Variable savings if the line runs full. €1,150 − €720 = €430 per tonne saved on cash variable cost.
At 36,000 tonnes (the line's capacity): 36,000 × €430 = €15.48M variable savings per year.
Step 2. Net annual savings after fixed costs. €15.48M − €6.0M fixed = €9.48M per year at full utilization.
Step 3. Simple payback. €48M ÷ €9.48M ≈ 5.1 years. That sits on the wrong side of a five-year hurdle if the line must run at capacity forever.
Step 4. Stress the volume. HarborChem's demand is 40,000 tonnes, so 4,000 tonnes still get bought outside. That is fine for the build case. The fragile assumption is utilization. At 80% of capacity (28,800 tonnes):
Variable savings = 28,800 × €430 = €12.38M. Net = €12.38M − €6.0M = €6.38M. Payback = €48M ÷ €6.38M ≈ 7.5 years. Fail.
Step 5. Quality and service as cash, not vibes. Rejects today: 40,000 × 1.8% = 720 tonnes wasted or reworked. At €1,150 landed, that is about €0.83M of film cost tied to scrap, before customer penalties. Cutting rejects to 0.9% frees roughly half of that, call it €0.4M, which does not rescue a 7.5-year payback but does support the strategic case if the client is losing contracts on quality.
On-time delivery from 92% to 97% is usually a sales argument, not a spreadsheet line, unless the interviewer gives you a penalty rate. Ask for it. If none is given, treat service as a secondary reason, not the NPV driver.
Recommendation
Do not approve the €48M line on today's numbers alone. Payback is about 5.1 years at full utilization and stretches past seven years if volume or share dips. That fails a five-year hurdle.
Recommend a staged path:
- Negotiate a 24-month dual-source contract that locks two of the three suppliers at a lower landed cost target (push toward €1,050) while you pilot a smaller tolling arrangement in Central Europe.
- Revisit the Poland build only if you can pre-commit at least 32,000 tonnes of internal demand for five years and pull variable cash cost to €720 or below with a firm EPC bid.
- Name the risk: a greenfield line that runs at 80% utilization turns a strategic "control the film" story into a balance-sheet problem.
The interviewer is listening for the decision, the payback math, and the condition under which you would reverse. A soft "it depends" without a number is a fail.
How to practice without inventing eight more cases
You do not need a private anthology. You need three reps with different failure modes.
| Rep | Stimulus | Pass condition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PwC US digital or healthcare sample, timed | Structure endorsed in your own mock; recommendation in under 90 seconds |
| 2 | HarborChem (above), no notes open | Payback calculated correctly; build/don't-build stated with a condition |
| 3 | A 10-minute slide packet (UK-style), any industry | You triage to two exhibits and ignore the rest |
If you only have yourself, speak the structure aloud, write the exhibit math by hand, and record the close. Then score the close against Strategy&'s own instruction: did you take a stand with the data you had?
Candidate folklore on Reddit and Glassdoor will invent round counts, "always written," and "always group." Prefer the firm's pages for format, and treat peer reports as hypotheses to confirm with your recruiter.
Practice this on CoachNed today
Run HarborChem's decision shape on a live candidate-led case: structure first, call for evidence, close with a number. Start with the five-minute typed rep at /start, or take the full voice case at /interview. For make-versus-buy and profitability math under a clock, use /drills/math and /drills/structure. Everything is open for seven days, no card; then $120 for a recruiting season or $49 a month.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find official Strategy& or PwC practice cases?
Start with PwC US Advisory case interview prep for two sample scenarios and leveled responses, and Strategy& business case prep for interview tips and process length. Strategy& UK publishes format detail on its graduates and interns page. Office routes differ; confirm yours with the recruiter.
How many practice cases do I need for Strategy&?
Enough to make the open-structure-drive-close loop automatic, not a round number. I would rather see three cases done twice with a scored close than twelve prompts skimmed once. Use the official PwC samples as the first two, then HarborChem or an equivalent original case as the third.
Are Strategy& cases interviewer-led or candidate-led?
Strategy&'s published guidance describes a conversation you structure and drive, with the interviewer able to course-correct. That is candidate-led in practice. PwC Advisory's public prep similarly frames a two-way conversation focused on how you think. Some offices also use a structured slide-pack case; that still expects you to prioritize and recommend.
Does Strategy& use a written case or group case?
It depends on the office and the PwC versus Strategy& route. Strategy& UK publicly describes a structured case with a slide pack and about ten minutes of prep in first round. PwC Consulting and Advisory processes in some countries still use group or written exercises on assessment days. Do not assume one global format; ask your recruiter what your invitation includes.
Should I memorize PwC frameworks or industry jargon?
PwC's own FAQ says you do not need firm-specific frameworks or terminology. They score structured thinking, comfort with ambiguity, communication, basic numeracy, and coachability. Learn to build a simple tree for the decision in front of you.
Sources
- Strategy& business case prep (Middle East careers) — interview count, case tips, no single right answer. Checked 2026-09-24.
- PwC US: Get Ready for Your Advisory Case Interview — sample scenarios, leveled responses, 30–45 minute case length, scoring cues, AI policy. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Strategy& UK graduates and interns — unstructured case plus structured slide-pack case with ~10 minutes prep. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Strategy& UK careers FAQs — application and interview process detail for UK. Checked 2026-09-24.
CoachNed is not affiliated with PwC, Strategy&, or any firm named above.