ACCA SBL March 2020 Exam Results – Instant Poll and Comments

Pass thank goodness, was very worried having not been able to apply any of the syllabus/models/matrixes but it’s helpful to know you can pass with common sense and a commercial approach. Phew.

Pass my last exam and my journey to ACCA finally has come to the end. Had to postpone my study for 4 years as i decided to dedicate my time to my child, but could manage to back and complete the last 4 exams in 1 year. Thanks to my mum and husband for keep pushing me and reminding me my goal. There was a huge difference when you study with or without kids in your life. I found the first 9 papers so easy but the last 4 was so challenging for one reason- my mind was too busy and no time to study! Had to work full time, looking after my child and then only had couple of hours to study at night. But if you want you can. Do Not Lose your Hopexxxx

Passed first time 58% I’m so relieved!

@henry1acca said:
I failed at 45% but i cannot understand why. Knew most models and applied them adequately and completed 17 pages of pure logic and business acumen. Out of all the papers i have completed i never felt so confident of passing than i did with this one. I really cannot understand where i went wrong whereas if i has failed on a certain few other papers i could understand where i went wrong through an educated guess after sitting the exam. Well done to those that have passed. I will be attempting this again but like many others i am very sceptical just how the ACCA mark these papers

Hi Henry, sorry to hear that but don’t give up! With this exam, our tutor kept on emphasising on the fact that it’s not about learning all the models, it’s about applying what you know even if it’s not related to any particular models. The models are there to help you plan your answer but won’t necessarily give you the answer if that makes sense. And also, don’t fit your answer around a model because that will restrict on your writing content. And one of the key to success is to attempt as many exam questions as possible.

Passed first time with 56. Did study much and didn’t apply any models at all.

Completed my acca exams now
I self-studied my whole acca journey and passed every single exam on first attempt.

For those who weren’t lucky, never give up. Acca exams tend to be scenario based ; apply all your knowledge
not only from that paper’s syllabus but across acca exams to the scenario. Work hardest on exam day and attempt every mark available. For the parts you struggle, read the question again and again . Almost always the wording of the question gives clue of the answer required. Give your reasoned opinion considering the scenario and mention any supporting facts you can from the scenario.

This is the first time I failed @ ACCA exam, got 41. I was hopeful of a pass but had a nagging doubt, so this result was not a total surprise. With June exams having been cancelled there will be plenty of time to prepare for the resit and first attempt at SBR. Carry on!

Failed. First failure of my ACCA Exams. The paper went well. Answered all questions. Can’t figure out where did I go wrong!! Or was it because I didn’t complete my Ethics and Professional exam before attempting SBL exam??

Faild at 46% ?

I’m so happy, I got 70%! This exam was very tricky, easy and difficult at the same time! Here are some comments:

1. Learn all the theory but be prepared that very little of it will come up. I don’t think I used any model, only common sense. This exam is very practical, you need to respond in the way you would respond in an actual workplace. If you start answering the questions by explaining theories and definitions, you will get zero marks (your boss wouldn’t be happy either if you started explaining theories instead of coming up with a practical solution at work). Learning theory is helpful though, particularly if English is your second language, as you learn how to discuss the issues that come up in the exam.

2. Focus on past papers, learn what formats you might need to apply (report, email etc), read all examiner’s reports. To be honest I didn’t do any practice questions from the book as I noticed they were different from what actually comes up in the exam. Instead, I almost memorised all past papers (but left a couple unread to attempt them in the final week under exam conditions). I also read all examiner’s reports a few times to know what are the common mistakes people make and what is expected.

3. You cannot use bullet points, but it’s good if you use short paragraphs (2-3 sentences) with an underlined heading to keep your answers clear and easy to mark. One paragraph = one point made, which can score 1-2 marks depending on how well developed it is. Even if you write a whole page, but only explain one point, you will still get only 2 marks for it! I always tried to cover at least half marks, so e.g. if a question was worth 8 marks, I would make 4-5 points. There are really good ACCA videos on YT where an ACCA tutor explains the Sep ‘18 paper, that’s how I learned this approach (it’s called “SBL September 2018 debrief: question 1”, there are videos on other questions as well, all are super useful). I really recommend watching them, as they give a good idea on how to structure your answers to maximise marks. ACCA’s solutions to past papers are for learning purposes only and you are not expected to write answers like this under exam conditions.

4. Read the question. Make sure you understand it. Make sure you REALLY understand what it requires. Don’t get carried away by a key word and write everything you know on the topic. Answer specifically what is required. Answering sometimes feels like you’re making stuff up, but it’s because this exam it’s just so different from other exams where they test purely knowledge.

5. Be careful as one question may ask for two things. They can also be very specific, e.g. they will ask you to describe risks to the company, but narrow it down and say “risks associated with strategy”. You would then need to come up with only this type of risks based on the scenario and make sure you link them to strategy in a clear way.

6. Time management and planning is key. Normally you have to answer 3-4 questions so it’s easy to allocate time, but here you might even have 8 questions, and it’s very easy to run out of time and not attempt all of them! I wrote the exact timings next to each question and gave myself 2.5 minutes per mark. For example, if a question was worth 8 marks, 8×2.5=20, so I would write “20 min 11:00-11:20”. Because of this, I finished all questions and did the last one properly.

7. Read between the lines of the scenario to give good answers. Imagine you work for them, try to understand how the company operates. Read carefully the description – is it a manufacturer? Services company? What’s their strategy, cost leader or differentiator? When you fully understand how the company ‘works’, you’ll find it easy to find real life solutions to questions.

8. Stay calm! When I opened the paper and started reading the questions I wanted to cry, because it wasn’t what I expected and it was only loosely related to all the theory i learned. I was really upset and felt like walking out. But I told myself I’m not a quitter and kept going through the tears, even though my situation seemed hopeless. In the end I answered all questions and got 70%. Never give up!!!

jai bhole ki
passed with 70%

Passed with 56%. Previous attempt was 46%.
Happy to progress to my last exam Of Advanced Taxation.

I passed at my first attempt, I got 51% . I didn’t use too many modules but doing the mock exams really helped me prepare for the exam.