The due diligence people - how to rank them?Having an offer from one, im keen to find out about the rest of them. THese are my thoughts:PWC: gets most of the big deals - and probably does the best work. However i believe this to be because of the leverage of its audit brand and size. Out of all the big 4 - its the one that seems the least like a consultancy.Deloitte M&A: The only 'real' consultancy out there - they have stood the test of time and are a strong tier 2 player. But is CDD a consultancy offering? Or is it an add on to FS services? Deloitte has a consulting brand - the only of the big 4 that will allow you to be considered a 'consultant' after you leave. KPMG - I dunno. Never heard anything about them - nothing at all - which to me indicates that they are the least consultants. EY BAS - it is sinking, isnt it? And it doesnt offer CDD ( or much else!) Thought please?

Deloitte M&A is part of the Strategy section of Deloitte's overall consulting arm. The reason I point this out is because it is there through the acquisition of Burlington Consultants. I don't know a huge amount about Burlington but I do believe they have a pretty good reputation for what they do, particularly in the PE field.If I had the choice between PWC Strat and Deloitte M&A it would be a choice between maybe better work while I was there versus better recognition when/if I leave. But of course there's loads of other factors to consider.

Dan, when did you have your PWC strat final round and how long did it take for them to get back to you?

Dan DD isnt really a consultancy offering, so I wouldnt rank them that way. It is complicated as the big consulting brands also often offer DD services. Example: KPMG might be seen as weak in consulting, but CDD has picked up quite briskly.

Dan (and think i know who you are)Deal size/number (and ultimatly success) the four are ranked the following:1. PwC2. KPMG3. Deloittes4. EY (but its not BAS)PwC is a great department and gets a lot of deals. Not so much strategy consulting as they tell people, lots of CDD/VDD etc and well thought ofKPMG - its already been said, are growing like crazy, the SCI departments have a good industry rep and are getting more and more work. They have recently started an Operations practice to do ODD - that is doing extreemly and has signed some high profile deals Deloittes: More consutling than both PwC & KPMG and well held. Hours are supposed to be pretty brutal and still viewed internally by other consultants at Deloitte's as being "a little bit separate"EY - not much of a clue really, they don't really hit the radar compared to the other 3I work in 1 of the above and have good friends in 2 of the other departments so i'm not a million miles out

Tizzle, you mentioned that PWC do more CDD/VDD than consulting so I was wondering who does PWC compete against when pitching for consulting projects? Is it against top tier strat houses or more specialist firms e.g. L.E.K?

We don't generally pitch externally - most work is through existing relationships or referrals from PwC V&S or CFWhen we have to compete for bits and pieces, I've mostly pitched against niche research and valuation firms.

So if PwC is viewed least like a pure strat firm and more CDD, what do people tend to go into when they leave? As there's no prof qualification involved, is it difficult to get a job in industry?