Strategy consulting answers where to play and how to win. Management consulting, in recruiting language, often means the broader implementation, operations, and technology work sold by Big 4 and Accenture-like firms.
People use the two phrases as synonyms. Firms do not. McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Monitor Deloitte, Strategy&, EY-Parthenon, L.E.K., and much of Kearney and Oliver Wyman sell strategy (sometimes with a specialist slant). Deloitte Consulting, PwC Advisory, EY Consulting, and KPMG Advisory sell a wider mix: transformation programmes, technology, risk, human capital, and some strategy. The interview follows the work. CoachNed is independent and not affiliated with those firms.
What changes in the work product
| Dimension | Strategy consulting | Broader management consulting |
|---|---|---|
| Decision | Enter, acquire, price, restructure the portfolio | Stand up the operating model, the system, the shared service |
| Time horizon | Months of study, years of direction | Months to years of delivery |
| Team size | Small; 3–5 on many MBB studies | Often larger transformation teams |
| Close of the case | A choice with a number | A business case plus a roadmap and residual risk |
| Parent | Independent partnership or a named strategy arm | Audit-origin network or IT integrator |
Kearney's "advice and action" and Strategy&'s capable-company language sit in the middle: strategy that is supposed to be implementable. That is still not the same interview as an ERP cutover case.
Pay follows the work, with arm exceptions
The 2026 report: MBB and strong strategy arms cluster at $175K–$192K MBA base; core Big 4 consulting $80K–$115K. Monitor is ~10–20% above Deloitte core. Strategy& 15–40% above PwC Advisory. EY-Parthenon above EY Consulting. Do not compare a strategy-arm letter to a core Advisory letter and call it "management consulting pay." Full tables: consulting salary guide.
Interviews: McKinsey, BCG, and the implementation stack
Strategy interviews at MBB split internally: McKinsey interviewer-led (you answer the question they ask); BCG and Bain candidate-led (you set the agenda). Independent Tier 2 is usually candidate-led like BCG with a flavour (FS, ops, PE, industrials). Strategy arms add written cases and, at EYP, a buy/no-buy.
Broader management consulting interviews add screens MBB does not use as the main filter: Cappfinity Immersive and Job Simulation, PwC work-styles or SHL, EY 24-hour skills tests, KPMG immersive assessments and Launch Pad. Live cases may be candidate-led but the scored close is implementation: next steps (Deloitte), dual-running (PwC Advisory), payback on a platform (EY), values and control environment (KPMG).
If you prepare only McKinsey, you will under-drive a BCG or Kearney case and under-close a Deloitte case. If you prepare only BCG profitability, you will miss EYP multiples and OW combined ratios.
| Firm family | Case control | What "good" sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| McKinsey | Interviewer-led | Precise answer to the asked branch |
| BCG / Bain / most Tier 2 | Candidate-led | You chose the right analysis |
| Monitor / Strategy& | Candidate-led | Where-to-play, not a systems plan |
| EY-Parthenon | Mixed reports | Price and hurdle |
| Big 4 core | Mixed | Roadmap that survives operations |
Worked snippet: one prompt, two valid endings
Prompt. A retailer can close 80 stores. Contribution from those stores is minus $4 million. Stranded distribution cost is $9 million if volume disappears. E-commerce can pick up 30% of the sales.
Strategy ending (Monitor / MBB / Strategy&). Decide whether the chain should still be in those catchments at all. If e-commerce capture is 30% of $80 million sales at 8% contribution, you keep $1.9 million, not enough to offset $9 million stranded cost. Recommendation: close, shrink the DC network in the same decision, or do not close. Next test: DC-level fixed cost that actually falls.
Management-consulting ending (Big 4 core). Same math, then the programme: lease exits, employee consultation, systems cutover, 18-month dual-running of two DCs, and who owns the P&L in month six. The strategy answer without a residual operating model is incomplete for that interviewer.
Practise both closes on CoachNed if you are applying to both markets.
How to choose
Choose strategy if you want the direction decision and you will staff small teams. Choose broader management consulting if you want industry depth in technology, risk, or operations, or if the strategy arm (Monitor, Strategy&, Parthenon) is the actual letter. Applying to "consulting" without naming the product produces a generic Why Firm answer that both interviews reject.
Sources
- Consulting salary report 2026
- Deloitte, PwC, EY salary pages (core vs arm)
- Firm case guides for Monitor, Strategy&, EYP, Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG
- Types of consulting firms
Frequently asked questions
Is Kearney strategy or operations?
Both, with a procurement and operations franchise. Interview like strategy with an implementation close.
Is Strategy& management consulting?
It is a strategy arm inside a management-consulting network. Interview it as Strategy&.
Where is pay?
Consulting salary guide. CoachNed is independent practice, not affiliated with McKinsey, BCG, Bain, or the Big 4. Cases on CoachNed are AI-simulated. Office and practice change the mix.