ACCA SBL exam technique

How the SBL exam is built

Strategic Business Leader is a single integrated case study lasting 3 hours 15 minutes (195 minutes), worth 100 marks, with a pass mark of 50%. The case contains three compulsory tasks with varying marks, and the tasks may put you in different roles. Twenty of the marks are for professional skills, spread across communication, commercial acumen, analysis, scepticism and evaluation, and they are earned through the way you answer the technical requirement. The syllabus and study guide says the pre-seen information is released two weeks before the exam.

There is no separate 15-minute reading period. Reading, planning and reflection time (RPRT) sits inside the 3 hours 15 minutes and you can use it flexibly. The biggest block is the whole case: 100 marks, 195 minutes. The examiner's report recommends spending the first 30 minutes of the exam reading and analysing the exhibit material, which leaves the rest for planning and writing three tasks.

Where SBL candidates lose marks

The examiner's report lists the reasons candidates fail: not answering the task asked, wasting time on irrelevant content, not applying the case information, and failing to develop the points made.

• Copying and pasting. Text copied from the exhibits does "not earn any marks". In one sitting, candidates pasted a target company's own description, complete with "our" and "we", into a report written for the acquirer.
• Repeating what the reader knows. Restating figures or percentage changes from an exhibit without explaining their implications adds no value for the chief executive, the recipient, "and therefore score[s] no marks".
• Generic content. Change management advice that could apply to any business, generic pros and cons of debt and equity, and "cloud computing should be adopted" without justification all scored little or nothing. Forcing a model onto a task to fill its boxes drew the same criticism.
• Scepticism as a list of questions. Demonstrating scepticism "does not simply mean phrasing their answers as questions". The board needed a critical assessment, not a series of "Don't you think…?" prompts.
• Answering beyond the task. Some candidates wrote lengthy recommendations on financing when none had been asked for.
• Leaving out a requirement. A number of candidates made no attempt at an eight-mark part; the examiner suggests some may have thought they could miss it without much damage.

The SBL technique that works

1. Work the pre-seen before the day, then let it go. Read it actively: how long-established and how large the organisation is, whether it is listed, how it is performing, its business model, resources, and ethical and CSR issues. Do not question-spot: the tasks are based on the exam exhibits, not on the pre-seen.
2. Read requirements first, then the exhibits. At the start, note each task's requirement and keep it in mind as you read, so you can tell which exhibit feeds which task. Copying the requirement into the word processor answer area can keep you on track; delete it, or separate it clearly, when you finish.
3. Read the technical and professional requirements together. Before you plan, write down the role you are playing, the recipient, the format (briefing note, report, email) and the professional skill named in the task. Answer the task set for that reader, with headings throughout, in a tone that suits them.
4. Write two-mark points. The report explains that a second mark comes from developing a point: evaluating its significance, relating it to the organisation, explaining the consequences, or supporting it with evidence from the exhibits. Develop each relevant point rather than merely listing it, and avoid repeating points in different words.
5. Plan for balance. The examiner asks for answers that are logically structured, balanced in depth and breadth, focused on the most important points, and not padded. In an evaluation task, cover financial and non-financial factors and reach a judgement.
6. Attempt every part. If time is short, give each remaining requirement a few developed points rather than finishing one task perfectly.

Check your SBL technique

The technique check below makes you take the decisions this guide describes on SBL-style material: how to use RPRT, what the role and recipient demand, how to develop an exhibit fact, when to move on. It scores you habit by habit, including professional skills, and saves your latest result on this device and to your account if you are signed in. A good first run is honest about how you work under time. Use the debrief, then retake once you have changed something.

Before the exam

The examiner strongly recommends full mock exams on the ACCA Practice Platform, under exam conditions, to estimate how much you can write in the time. When the pre-seen is released, read it closely in the first few days, then go back to practising tasks. On the day, check your exam docket, and plan how you will use RPRT before you open the first exhibit.