SBL*** ACCA Paper SBL December 2018 Exam was.. Instant Poll and comments ***

Thought exam was fine - bit annoyed with myself on certain bits but wasnt a tough exam based on expectations.

I felt the exam was ok but I needed more time to plan and didn't get to finish writing all the questions completely. Only used my calculator to work out payback but didn't manage to even mention it.

the exam was fairly easy. Missed up with a couple of questions, but hoping to make it. question one used PESTLE, with one of five forces related and supported industry. NPV, question forgot to use the IRR and payback period as a comparison but managed to through some sensitivity analysis for both financial and non-financial aspects like 5 forces. the press release was a relatively easy one. both reports were easy. the only one through me out was slid did not understand the requirements correctly so I did my best guess but the note was correct.

Breaking down paper: 1a - I used Porters Diamond will few PESTEL bits not touched on before conclusion 1b - SAF to assess whether to buy. Didnt bother calc payback etc, just talked about acceptability and funding etc 2a - cant remember question now 2b - integrated reporting - was ok bit wishy washy but intro covered medelow matrix then talked about each capital and how stakeholders could be managed 3a - disruptive tech. Broke down into two parts and just went with key themes and then how to explot opportunities - again, bit subjective 3b - slides are ok as not as much writing. Did issue impact mitigation as the notes

2a ah yes, press release. Thought was ok just not sure if enough for 10 marks but nice and easy question

SBL opinion so far: Scenario was set up as a company in the hotel industry that wanted to expand by acquiring (first time ever) another hotel chain in another country. Q1 a) asked to asses why the Hotel was profitable so far - so I used Porter's diamond and assessed all the factors that linked to the Hotel doing so well so far (in a competitive industry). B) asked to asses if the acquisition was a good idea so I used Suitability, Acceptability and Feasibility criteria to assess this. Q2 a) I remember asking us to write a report to the Board to alleviate the concern about the acquisition of the new hotel in regards to Social & environmental perspective/matters b) Integrated reporting - why it is a good idea to be used by the company Q3 a) Disruptive technologies - challenges for the Hotel and how they can use them in the future b) 3 Slides on risks of a poor IT system - outcome and response All in all the exam was quite fair, but very subjective responses could have been written. Fingers crossed there will not be such a low passing rate and that all my answers make sense to the reviewer :) Most probably missed a lot of points in the scenario. Don't be fooled by the 4h, as it will take more than 45 min to read the scenario so that one would understand what is what. The requirements are extremely interpretable so, again, I hope I touched most of the points needed for a pass. Good luck to us all!

Yep

3a was 14 and 3b was 12. Not sure of prof marks - cant remember!

Yeah accountants and auditors are journalists abd regularly writing CSR press releases in listed companies (lol)

Mark allocation: Part 1a: Technical 16 + Professional skill 3 or 4 (not sure) Part 1b: Technical 16 + Professional skill 3 or 4 (not sure) Total marks for Part 1 = 39 (one of the two parts had 4 marks for professional skills) Part 2a: Technical 10 + Professional skill 3 Part 2b: Technical 12 + Professional skill 3 Total marks for Part 2 = 28 Part 3a: Technical 14 + Professional skill 4 Part 3b: Technical 12 + Professional skill 3 Total marks for Part 3 = 33

MARK ALLOCATION: Part 1a: Technical 16 + Professional skill 3 Part 1b: Technical 16 + Professional skill 4 Total marks for Part 1 = 39 Part 2a: Technical 10 + Professional skill 3 Part 2b: Technical 12 + Professional skill 3 Total marks for Part 2 = 28 Part 3a: Technical 14 + Professional skill 4 Part 3b: Technical 12 + Professional skill 3 Total marks for Part 3 = 33

4 Hours...still wasnt enough time to give the case study a proper reading. For 1 (b) i did a balogun hope haley EVALUATION for the change in the proposed acquisition... Time pressure..negative..90million needed immediately.. Scope..negative...big transformation required etc Diversity...negative...need more women in management etc Power...positive..management willing to sell etc Preservation....negative...gym and leisure facilities? Capacity.....positive...they have the finance(debt and equity in place) Capability....negative...never done before (also need to send staff 5000 miles away) Readiness..positive....staff want better wages and better opportunities etc.... Am I the only one that approached it this way? i understand most people did SAF. I think there was so much subjectivity and alot of your own interpretation required in the exam as a whole...

I think as long as you answer the question the model is more a framework to help with answers. The model you used is taught as for when you have internal change at an organisation, but sure you got the key points!

Anyone else notice the opening paragraph said 75% of people used online booking and the CEO said 80%. Wasn’t sure if this was relevant or not.

@thelastfinalist said: Anyone else notice the opening paragraph said 75% of people used online booking and the CEO said 80%. Wasn’t sure if this was relevant or not.

I read as 80% of the 75% using online booking go direct to the website rather than via OTAs

I found the exam ok but not sure if I took the correct approach: 1a, I spoke to PTESTEL to asses our current position in relation to each of these points, I.e. how much of our success was due to our position. Spending more time on economy and technology. 1b. I spoke to the difference of Veerlandia to Deerland in relation to PESTEL in point 1. I then spoke to each assumption in the NPV in terms of sensitivity analysis and questioned our structure and challenged each assumption. ( I assume this is why they provided an NPV). 2a. Media release basically spoke to all the facts and HiLite's current commitments subtly refuting all the comments in the Daily Mail article. 2b. Integrated reporting spoke to how it would help the organisation convey its position to all stakeholders, and would also minimise bad press in the future etc, Also how it may be perceived in the investment community. I spoke to environmental reporting standards etc. 3a. I spoke to the importance and reach of technology and spoke about either becoming a Cost leader or a differentiator. I spoke to the power of technological disruption 3b. I prepared slides with the risk, causes, possible outcomes, and suggested controls that may be in place, I spoke how the probability of the risk and the severity of the outcome too. I ran out of time in question 3 but I am hoping that I've scored enough points to pass comfortably. Let me know if you think any of these are well off the mark.

Regarding Question 1a) I saw many answers analysing the factors of success using Porter 5 or PESTEL, however I did not made the same as I saw that both are related to external factors which are in Deeland and all the hotels in this country has the same external environment how could one hotel differentiate from others?.I made my own analysis using the Hotel strategies as key factors of success in its industry in Deeland. Question 1B) I used PESTEL from my point of view it was suitable for me to use it for analysing the external factors which will have a great impact on the hotel.

I agree that for question 1, in order to capture the key success factors, a free-style analysis is more suitable as PESTEL, 5 FORCES are purely to evaluate the environment, and this not enough to demonstrate why HiLite is doing so well , for example the industry article said about the luxury hotel chains that went out of business ( same country same conditions) I did use the Porter Diamond for inspiration as I believe the country itself has a competitive advantage in tourism that contributed to success of Hi-Lite ( favorable factors very good infrastructure, tax rebates, educational programs in hospitality which results in high percentage of leisure travelers ) I think with the models sometimes you are limiting your options to discuss a topic,and lose the focus from the actual requirement.

Although I did not mention that I used as PESTEL or SAF, i explained the question as inline with the content of PESTEL and SAF. Can i still get mark from my answers or would I have to explain as Political, Economical, Social, etc..

1a i used the porters diamond 1b was okay i used SAF model to asses the decisin to buy or not 2a used some points to defend Hilite's decesion 2b Intergrated report MMMH Disaster i compltely forgot 3a Was alittle bit hard but managed to get a few points on how Hilite's can respond to the rent a room service 3b i wasnt sure about the last risk but manged to provide notes to the first two risks keeping my fingers crossed

well that's me done - i didn't use Pestel or porter's diamond - i just used the information from the case stud extracts. I waffled through integrated reporting, as i couldn't remember integrated reporting at all. So this is weird, i found the exam paper hard but OK all at the same time. So i guess from all the above, i will be re-sitting, as i used no theory just common sense. LOL

You don't need to use a model unless it's specifically stated in the question. I didn't use a model for 1 a) or b) but realize on reflection that the points I made were in line with PESTLE, Porters Diamond and SAF. Unless the question tells you to use a model I prefer not to as tend to come up with more ideas by just using the info in the case and common sense.

@gnordin said: You don't need to use a model unless it's specifically stated in the question. I didn't use a model for 1 a) or b) but realize on reflection that the points I made were in line with PESTLE, Porters Diamond and SAF. Unless the question tells you to use a model I prefer not to as tend to come up with more ideas by just using the info in the case and common sense.

I agree with the sentiment here - I used Porter’s Diamond in 1a but did other categories to cover as many points as poss where I perhaps didn’t include under the relevant heading in a model. Wouldnt worry and overthink it.

Want to relive the exam? Paper has been published on the ACCA website - not with answers though! https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/acca/global/PDF-students/acca/SBL/sbl-2018-dec-q.pdf

1a. Used pestel 1b. SAF 2a. Formal points related 2b. Benefits of individual integrated capitals 3a. Pointwise alternative options to tackle 3b. Put points in slide format with solutions

After 3hours non-stop writing my fingers just gave up. Even though my brain was working, the fingers were refused to write. I really hope there will be any way we can take the exam by computer or something that physically not painful in the future.

didnt use any model at all. Was too stressed to remember any

When will be the answers released?

@robertoh said: 2a ah yes, press release. Thought was ok just not sure if enough for 10 marks but nice and easy question

We both had same approach at attempting these questions...