ACCA SBL
ACCA Strategic Business Leader (SBL) Flashcards
What are the three main steps in the rational planning model?
What is meant by logical incrementalism?
Why do advocates of logical incrementalism argue it is a better approach than more radical, ambitious planning?
What is freewheeling opportunism?
List five advantages of strategic planning.
What are two potential advantages of freewheeling opportunism?
What is a PESTEL analysis?
What are Porter’s five forces?
At what level should Porter's five forces analysis be applied, and what does it tell you?
An organisation’s capabilities arise from two sources. What are these?
What is a threshold capability?
What is needed for capabilities that give sustained competitive advantage?
What is meant by the terms ‘position-based’ and ‘resource-based’ strategic planning?
‘M words’ are often used to describe an organisation’s resources. List nine of them.
What is a mission statement and what are its main elements?
Other than Mendelow’s classification, into what three categories can stakeholders be divided?
Why is stakeholder analysis important in strategic planning?
What are the two axes on a Boston Consulting Grid?
What are the four quadrants of a BCG matrix and what market share and growth rates do they have?
What is the problem with a problem child product or division?
In BCG terms, what is meant by a balanced portfolio of products?
What are the primary activities of the value chain?
What are the support activities of the value chain?
What are Porter’s three generic strategies?
What are the axes of Ansoff’s matrix?
What can a company do to increase its profits if it stays with existing products and existing markets?
In Ansoff’s matrix, what is moving into a new market with an existing product called?
In Ansoff’s matrix, what is selling a new product to an existing market known as?
What are the two classes of diversification?
What is meant by the terms ‘backward integration’ and ‘forward integration’?
What is the name of the business structure which is organised as accounting, manufacturing, sales, IT etc?
What are the main ways in which a business can be divisionalised?
Describe what is meant by the term ‘matrix structure’.
What are the six building blocks (parts) of an organisation in Mintzberg's model?
What are the characteristics of a professional bureaucracy in terms of Mintzberg’s structures?
What is a span of control, and how does it differ between tall narrow and wide flat structures?
What are the three levels or categories of business process change?
What are the four descriptions of change in terms of scope of change and nature of change?
What are four business process redesign patterns?
What are the two axes of Harmon’s process–strategy matrix?
According to Harmon’s process-strategy matrix, how should a process be handled in each of the four combinations of strategic importance and complexity/dynamism?
What are the contextual features in Balogun and Hope Hailey’s theory of change management?
What are the design choices in Balogun and Hope Hailey’s theory of change management?
What is Lewin’s force field analysis of change management?
What are the steps in Lewin’s three step approach to change management?
A change agent is often a consultant. What are the advantages of hiring such a consultant?
What are the original 4Ps of the marketing mix?
What additional 3Ps were added to the original 4P marketing mix to cover the marketing of services?
Name four types of activity that come under the heading of promotion.
What is market targeting?
What are the three types of market targeting?
What are the 6Is of e-business?
What are the potential barriers to e-business?
What are the seven elements of the cultural web?
What are Handy’s four cultural types?
What are four potential benefits of decentralisation?
What are transactional and transformational leadership?
What are the typical characteristics of a project?
What are the typical stages of a project?
What tools can be used on a project cost/benefit analysis?
What classes of benefit can be identified when appraising a project?
What are the typical purposes of a project initiation document?
What are the typical qualities of a project manager?
What are the project management variables?
What are three determinants of risk in a project?
What is meant by ‘benefits realisation’?
What are the two types of review that should form part of a project completion report?
What is ‘transactions marketing’ and ‘relationship marketing’?
What is price skimming?
What is penetration pricing?
What is non-price competition?
What is a data warehouse and data mining?
What would by included as product features?
What is meant by marketing?
How is an expected value calculated, and what are the problems of using expected values in project appraisal?
What are the two parts of a time series analysis that are analysed using moving averages?
What are the potential problems when relying on linear regression results?
What are Johnson and Scholes's three criteria for evaluating a proposed strategy?
How is “Corporate Governance” defined?
What is a value network?
What are the two determinants of an organisation's risk appetite?
List five potential advantages of outsourcing.
What is a risk report and what purpose does it serve?
What are the four desirable qualities of an internal audit department and internal auditors?
What is cloud computing?
Explain what is meant by “integrity”.
List five external stakeholders of a public company.
Define the term “stakeholder”.
What is meant by the expression ‘off-shoring’?
The Baldrige model for world-class organisations is drawn as a diagram of eight boxes. What are the titles of those eight boxes?
What are the three elements of Adair's action-centred leadership?
Under what five headings are the main principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code grouped?
Explain the UK Corporate Governance Code principle of board leadership and company purpose.
Explain what the UK Corporate Governance Code requires in respect of board composition, succession and evaluation (board effectiveness).
Explain what the UK Corporate Governance Code requires of the board in respect of audit, risk and internal control (accountability).
What does the current UK Corporate Governance Code require in respect of directors' remuneration?
What is meant by the terms 'entrepreneur' and 'intrapreneur'?
What are the four 'Vs' of big data?
Gross risk depends on three factors, each of which of which can be modified to reduce the overall risk. What are the three factors?
What is scenario analysis, and what does it seek to achieve?
What are the specific responsibilities of a Chair of a public company?
What is an induction process?
What is meant by the terms: pure risk, gross risk and net risk?
Projects should be assessed for feasibility. What are the four categories of feasibility that should be considered?
What is meant by the 'public interest'?
What are the three components of the ACCA's ethical framework?
What is a ‘shared service’?
What is POPIT?
What are the two broad approaches available for implementing corporate governance?
What is the frequently quoted example of a rules-based system of corporate governance?
Risk management seeks a balance between which two competing demands on the board?
What are Tucker's five questions in his approach to ethical behaviour?
Compare strategic drift to disruptive technologies.
On what document are the following recorded: risks, their probability of occurrence, their impact and the planned responses to the risks?
Which model maps stakeholders by power and level of interest, and what does each quadrant imply?
What are the five elements of internal control?
What are the six steps of the business change life-cycle?
What is described as follows: a concise communication of an organisation’s strategy, governance and performance; demonstrating the links between financial performance and the wider social, environmental and economic context; and showing how the organisation creates value over the short, medium and long term?
What is a “whistle-blower”?
In the context of risk management, what are the four ways available to a company to manage a risk it faces?
What objectives does the standard definition of an internal control system include?
List the categories of internal control activities.
The mnemonic “ACCURATE” is used for the characteristics of good information. What does each letter stand for?
A risk map plots high/low severity or impact of an event and high/low probability or likelihood of an event. Match transfer, accept, avoid/abandon and reduce to the four quadrants ?
What are the five identified ethical threats to an external auditor's independence?
Name five sources of self-interest threats to an auditor’s independence.
In the context of risk management, we come across the acronym ALARP What does the acronym stand for?
Define “Enterprise Risk Management”.
In COSO's 2004 enterprise risk management framework, into what four categories are an entity's objectives grouped?
What are the components of COSO's enterprise risk management framework?
When faced with an ethical conflict, what six steps should the decision-maker consider?
What are the two axes of a risk map?
Suggest six areas that would typically be covered by a company's ethical code.
In a two-tier board system for corporate governance, what are the two boards called?
What are the three conditions needed for a fraud to be perpetrated?
What are the three elements of an anti-fraud strategy?
What are the six capitals of integrated reporting?
Which ISO number refers to a series of international standards on environmental management?
In knowledge management, what are the two categories of knowledge?
What are the '3Es', often used when discussing not-for-profit organisations?
In the UK, whistle-blowers (employees, trainees and agency workers) are protected by law if they report six categories of event. What are these categories?
How is a ‘profession’ defined?
Define “professionalism”.
What does 'EMAS' stand for?
What are the five fundamental principles which underpin the ACCA code of ethics?
What is the International Corporate Governance Network?
What matters are covered in the six core performance indicators of EMAS?
What is meant by the expression “environmental footprint”?
What are the 3Ps of triple bottom line reporting?
What is the principal–agent relationship, and how does it arise in corporate governance?
What problems arise from the separation of the ownership of a company from control over its activities?
What is meant by the expression ‘agency costs’?
Give four examples of agency costs incurred by a company’s shareholders.
What mechanisms can be used to reduce agency problems between shareholders and directors?
On what grounds may the office of a director be vacated?
On what grounds may a person be disqualified from serving as a director?
What is meant by ‘retirement by rotation’ of directors?
In the context of a company general meeting, what is a proxy?
What business is normally transacted at a company’s annual general meeting?
What rights are enjoyed by the ordinary shareholders of a company?
What are the four elements of corporate social responsibility in Carroll’s model?
With reference to the legal responsibility element of CSR, what points illustrate the concept?
With reference to the philanthropic responsibility element of CSR, what points illustrate the concept?
According to Gray, Owen and Adams, what are the seven positions on social responsibility?
In ethical theory, what are the characteristics of an absolutist belief system?
In ethical theory, what are the characteristics of a relativist belief system?
What is meant by a deontological approach to ethics?
What is meant by a teleological approach to ethics?
Under a teleological approach to an ethical dilemma, from which two perspectives may the consequences be viewed?
What are the three levels in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development?
What are the two stages within Kohlberg’s level 1 (pre-conventional)?
What are the two stages within Kohlberg’s level 2 (conventional)?
What are the two stages within Kohlberg’s level 3 (post-conventional)?
What are the seven stages of the American Accounting Association model for resolving an ethical dilemma?
In the context of ethical values in governance, what is meant by honesty (probity)?
In the context of ethical values in governance, what is meant by responsibility?
In the context of ethical values in governance, what is meant by accountability?
What are the main benefits to an organisation of adopting cloud computing?
What are the main risks of moving an organisation’s systems to the cloud?
What factors should be considered when deciding between cloud services and owned hardware and software?
From a strategic perspective, why should an organisation explore mobile and smart technology?
What opportunities and threats does big data present to an organisation?
How can data analysis inform decisions on new product development, marketing and pricing?
What are the potential benefits of using artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics?
What are the risk, control and ethical implications of using AI, machine learning and robotics?
How can information technology be applied to support an organisation’s e-business?
How does online branding differ from traditional branding?
How can e-business technologies be used to acquire and manage suppliers and customers?
Why is effective information systems control a continuing strategic issue for an organisation?
Distinguish between general IT controls and application controls, giving examples of each.
What are the main cyber security threats to an organisation, and how can cyber security be promoted?
What controls safeguard an organisation’s information technology assets and support continuity of operations?
What makes information flows to management adequate for the purpose of managing internal control and risk?
What indicators suggest that an organisation’s internal control system is weak or ineffective?
What are the consequences to an organisation of poor internal control and of non-compliance with law and regulation?
What should be considered when recommending new internal controls to prevent fraud, error, waste or environmental harm?
Why might an organisation need an internal audit function?
Why is the independence of the internal audit function important, and how can it be safeguarded?
What is the role of an audit committee and how should it be composed?
What should a report on internal control and internal audit contain, and why is it given to shareholders?
In what ways is risk dynamic, and how does an organisation’s risk profile vary with its circumstances?
What is meant by related and correlated risk factors?
What is the role of a risk manager?
What does it mean to embed risk management in an organisation’s culture and values, and how is it achieved?
What is meant by spreading and diversifying risk, and when is it appropriate?
What is assurance mapping, and what are the ‘four lines of defence’?
How are advances in technology transforming the finance function?
What is finance business partnering, and what are its advantages and drawbacks?
Compare shared service centres and global business services as structures for the finance function.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing the finance function?
How should an organisation determine its overall investment requirements?
What sources of short-term finance are available to an organisation, and when is each appropriate?
What sources of long-term finance are available, and what factors determine the choice between them?
Why is net present value regarded as the technically superior investment appraisal method?
What are the limitations of payback and of the internal rate of return as investment appraisal methods?
What is capital rationing, and how should investments be selected when capital is limited?
What is sensitivity analysis in project appraisal, and what are its weaknesses?
What financial reporting and tax implications should be considered when choosing between strategic or investment options?
Into what categories are accounting ratios normally grouped, and what does each measure?
What is return on capital employed, and what drives it?
How is financial gearing measured, and why does it matter strategically?
What are the limitations of using ratio analysis to appraise organisational performance and position?
Why does an organisation continue to need effective cost management and control systems, and what costing methods support strategic decisions?
Evaluate budgeting, standard costing and variance analysis as support for strategic planning and control.
What are the purposes, responsibilities and accountabilities of the main board committees?
What are the purposes, responsibilities and accountabilities of a nomination committee?
What are the general principles of remunerating directors, and what are the components of a typical package?
What regulatory, strategic and labour market issues affect the determination of directors’ remuneration?
What are the purposes and responsibilities of non-executive directors?
What is meant by diversity on the board of directors, and what are the arguments concerning it?
Evaluate the case for and against unitary and two-tier board structures.
What is the role and influence of institutional investors in governance?
How do governance arrangements differ between family firms and joint stock companies?
What is a SWOT analysis, and where does each element come from?
How is a SWOT analysis used to generate strategic options?
What are external key drivers of change, and why must they be identified?
What is Porter’s Diamond, and what does it explain?
What are strategic alliances and partnering, and when are they preferred to acquisition or organic growth?
How does organisational knowledge contribute to strategic capability?
What leadership qualities are effective in the successful formulation and implementation of strategy and change?
What style of leadership is appropriate to manage strategic change?
What are disruptive technologies, and what is the potential impact of fintech and cryptocurrencies?
How do new products, processes, service developments and innovation support organisational strategy?
How does talent management contribute to organisational strategy?
What are the five professional skills examined in Strategic Business Leader, and how are they rewarded?
What does the professional skill of communication require in an SBL answer?
What does the professional skill of commercial acumen require in an SBL answer?
What does the professional skill of analysis require in an SBL answer?
What does the professional skill of scepticism require in an SBL answer?
What does the professional skill of evaluation require in an SBL answer?
What is a cross-directorship, and why does good corporate governance practice discourage it?
Card 1 of 251. Question side.