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PwC Case Interview Examples: A Worked Practice Case

PwC Consulting cases are practical, data-driven, and often tied to deals, technology, and risk. Work through a full PwC-style deal case step by step, check your math as you go, and compare your answers to a model response.

By the Case Prep Team Updated October 1, 2026 15 min read

2 to 3 roundsTypical for entry-level roles

Interviewer-guidedThe most common case style

Online testBefore live interviews

Written or groupAdded in some final rounds

Start the practice case Read the PwC interview guide

Format

What makes PwC cases different

PwC Consulting spans management consulting, technology, risk, and deals work, and its cases reflect that range. You are as likely to get a question about whether an acquisition will pay off or how to manage a new risk as a classic profitability case.

Interview formats vary by office and team. Candidates report live cases, written cases, group exercises, and recorded video cases, so confirm your format with your recruiter.

Interviewers often guide the case

Many candidates describe PwC Consulting cases as interviewer-guided: the interviewer hands you data and asks specific questions. You still need a clear structure and should explain your thinking at every step.

Real-world themes

PwC says its cases are built around real-world themes, from technology disruption to growth strategy. Expect practical problems over abstract strategy puzzles.

Fit carries real weight

Behavioral questions sit alongside every case, and a weak fit answer can cost you even after a strong case.

PwC publishes its own case prep page with sample cases, including a risk management case and a healthcare acquisition case: PwC case interview prep. If you are applying to Strategy&, PwC's strategy arm, expect harder, candidate-led cases. See the Strategy& interview guide.

Case types

Case types PwC candidates report

These five themes cover most PwC Consulting cases. Each example prompt below is an original PwC-style prompt, not a real interview question. Pick a tab to see how you would structure it and what math to expect.

Example prompt: A food distributor wants to buy a smaller rival. Will the deal create value?
How to structure it: Compare the price paid with the target's standalone value plus realistic synergies, net of integration cost. Then cover integration risks: customers, people, and systems.
Math to expect: Synergy sizing, valuation multiples, and payback on one-time integration costs.

Practice case

Worked practice case: Brightline Logistics

This is an original deal case written in the style PwC Consulting candidates describe: a synergy exhibit, risk-adjusted math, a value check against the price, and an integration plan. Each step shows the question an interviewer would likely ask next so you can check yourself.

Answer each step out loud or on paper before you reveal the model answer. The suggested times match a strong candidate's pace.

Deals and M&ALogisticsAbout 25 minutes

Brightline Logistics: will the acquisition pay off?

Your client is Brightline Logistics, a US freight and delivery company with $2 billion in revenue. It has agreed to buy Corvus Freight, a regional competitor with $500 million in revenue, for $750 million. The bankers' deck promises $60 million a year in synergies. Before the deal closes, Brightline's board has asked PwC whether the deal will create value and what the integration should focus on.

If you ask clarifying questions, the interviewer shares:

On its own, Corvus earns $50 million a year in EBITDA, and similar companies are valued at about 9 times EBITDA.
The two companies operate overlapping depots in 12 cities.
The deal is signed but has not yet closed.

0 of 6 steps revealed

Structure the problem

Take about 2 minutes

Interviewer: How would you approach the board's question?
The deal creates value only if what Brightline gains is worth more than the premium it paid. I would look at four areas:
- The price: how much Brightline is paying above Corvus's standalone value.
- Synergies: cost savings from shared depots, purchasing, and back office, plus any extra revenue from selling to each other's customers.
- Cost to achieve: the one-time spending needed to capture those synergies.
- Integration risk: losing customers, drivers, or key staff, and problems combining systems.
Why it works: it frames the question the way a deals team would, comparing synergies with the premium paid, rather than asking whether the deal is "good" in general.
Read the synergy exhibit

Take about 3 minutes

Interviewer: Here are the bankers' synergy estimates. How long does the full synergy program take to pay back its one-time cost?

Exhibit 1: Synergy estimates from the bankers' deck

Synergy Annual benefit ($M) One-time cost ($M)

Depot consolidation 24 30

Fuel and fleet purchasing 18 2

Back office (finance, HR, IT) 12 18

Cross-selling (profit) 6 5

Total 60 55

Illustrative data for practice.

Payback (years)
Risk-adjust the synergies

Take about 3 minutes

Interviewer: In PwC's experience, deals like this capture about 80% of planned cost synergies but only 30% of revenue synergies. What are the risk-adjusted annual synergies?

Risk-adjusted synergies ($M)
Check value against the price

Take about 4 minutes

Interviewer: Using a 9 times multiple, is Brightline paying more for Corvus than the deal is worth?

Net value created ($M)
Plan the integration

Take about 3 minutes

Interviewer: Given that, what should the integration focus on?
- Protect revenue first: contact Corvus's largest customers before close, keep their account managers, and avoid service disruptions during depot moves.
- Sequence the savings: capture purchasing savings in the first months, since they are fast and low risk. Consolidate depots city by city rather than all at once.
- Keep key people: offer retention packages to drivers and depot managers in the overlapping cities, where losses would hurt most.
- Run it tightly: set up an integration office that tracks each synergy line against target every month.
Each priority links back to the sensitivity in step 4: with thin margins, the integration plan has to protect every dollar of synergy.
Make the recommendation

Take about 1 minute

Interviewer: The board chair asks for your bottom line. What do you say?

Synergy	Annual benefit ($M)	One-time cost ($M)
Depot consolidation	24	30
Fuel and fleet purchasing	18	2
Back office (finance, HR, IT)	12	18
Cross-selling (profit)	6	5
Total	60	55

Math

PwC case math quick check

PwC case math centers on deals, costs, and payback. Try these four without a calculator, and aim for under a minute each.

A company earns $30M in EBITDA, and similar companies sell for 8 times EBITDA. What is it worth?

Value ($M)

A buyer pays $400M for a company worth $320M on its own. Synergies are worth $100M. How much value does the deal create?

Value created ($M)

A data breach has a 5% chance of happening each year and would cost $40M. What is the expected annual loss?

Expected loss ($M)

A new system costs $3M and saves $1.2M a year. What is the payback period?

Payback (years)

Other formats

Written, group, and video cases

Most PwC candidates face live cases, but some offices add other formats in the final round. Ask your recruiter which you will get.

Written case

You review a pack of materials, often with about an hour to prepare, then present your recommendation and discuss it with an interviewer. Decide your answer early, give each slide a clear takeaway as its title, and label your assumptions.

Group case

Some final rounds include a group exercise with other candidates. Interviewers watch how you contribute, build on others' ideas, and help the group reach an answer, not just whether you are right.

Recorded video case

Some teams use a recorded format where you answer case questions on camera with a short prep window. Practice speaking in a clear structure, since there is no interviewer to steer you back on track.

The exhibit drills help with all three, since each one depends on pulling insights out of data quickly.

Prep plan

A two-week prep plan for a PwC case

Days 1 to 3
Learn to structure deal, technology, and risk cases, not just profitability. Start with the frameworks guide.
Days 4 to 6
Drill math daily: valuation multiples, synergy sizing, expected loss, and payback.
Days 7 to 8
Work through exhibits, and give the single most important takeaway first every time.
Days 9 to 11
Run full cases with a partner, including PwC's own sample cases. Redo Brightline from memory and time yourself.
Days 12 to 14
Prepare your behavioral stories and a specific "Why PwC?" that names the team you applied to. If your final round includes a written case, do one timed practice packet.

Keep preparing

PwC interview guideRounds, formats, and what interviewers look for. Strategy& interview guideHow PwC's strategy arm interviews. PwC and Strategy& salariesCompare pay across PwC's consulting practices. PwC application deadlinesDates and timeline for the next cycle.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Are PwC case interviews candidate-led or interviewer-led?

PwC Consulting cases are often interviewer-guided, with the interviewer sharing data and asking specific questions, though some interviewers expect you to drive. Strategy& cases are consistently candidate-led.

What kind of cases does PwC give?

Expect practical cases on deals, technology, risk, growth, and operations. PwC says its cases are based on real-world themes, from technology disruption to strategic growth.

Does PwC publish practice cases?

Yes. PwC's case interview prep page includes sample cases, such as a risk management road map and a healthcare acquisition. Work through them alongside the case on this page.

Does PwC use written or group cases?

Some offices add a written case, a group exercise, or a recorded video case, usually in the final round. Confirm your format with your recruiter.

How is PwC Consulting different from Strategy&?

Strategy& is PwC's strategy arm. It recruits separately and runs harder, candidate-led cases closer to MBB. PwC Consulting cases are more practical and often more guided.

Is the Brightline Logistics case a real PwC case?

No. It is an original practice case written to match the style PwC Consulting candidates describe. All numbers are illustrative.

Sources

PwC US, Get Ready for Your PwC Case Interview. pwc.com. Accessed October 2026.
Hacking the Case Interview, PwC Case Interview: The Complete Prep Guide. hackingthecaseinterview.com. Accessed October 2026.
Hacking the Case Interview, PwC Consulting Interview guide. hackingthecaseinterview.com. Accessed October 2026.
Road to Offer, PwC Case Interview Guide 2026. roadtooffer.com. Accessed October 2026.

Case Prep is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by PwC. The Brightline Logistics case, example prompts, and all data on this page are original teaching material.