SBL or P4 with P5 — OpenTuition Forums

CCathal7y ago

*Apologies if not the correct place for this subject choice/exam combination question* I look set to repeat P5 in March as I expect to fail it by c. 10% when results come out next week. I'm out of employment so fancy taking on an additional exam in the March sitting. Any recommendation as to which one I take with it — SBL or P4? I'd be starting study asap. SBL is similar in some areas to P5 so some syllabus cross-overs (not a huge amount though) but equally could be a disadvantage as the papers look at some of the same topics but from different angles... also I'm slightly concerned doing a 4 hour exam day before P5. Also the old adage of doing a "Numbers" one (P4) with a "written one" (SBL & P5). So I'm leaning towards P4 unless someone tells me I'm crazy and to instead go SBL..? :) Any advice welcome & appreciated :)

FFiddah7y ago#1

Hi, No worries this a general forum so you can certainly post your queries that are generic. Coming to your query, well to begin with I certainly d NOT recommend to give more than 1 paper per sitting and if a person has to resit an exam better to get done with that paper and then take up a new one. But this is the students' own personal choice and it is upto them to make a decision. The points that you have mentioned are certainly valid. SBL A DAY BEFORE P5 (APM) Yes, it could be exhausting, a day before you have a 4 hour exam and then the next day P5 so in that case if you want to make sure that you are relaxed a day before you may want to go with P4(AFM) SBL MORE OF A WRITTEN AND P4 HAVING NUMERICS Well, yes it is better of to prepare two different types of paper than of the same type. What I mean to say here, you "may" have lesser chances of getting bored and mind being overworked SBL AND P5 HAVING THE SIMILAR TOPICS So, if you think your concepts for P5 may not be clear and 'expect' not to pass then it is better to first get your concepts clear and pass P5, then take up SBL otherwise you "may" struggle in those topics that are similar in SBL too. Now there may also be other factors to consider: RECOMMENDED PREPARATION TIME So the recommended preparation for SBL is 18 weeks as mentioned here (on page 15 and 17) https://www.accaglobal.com/us/en/student/exam-support-resources/professional-exams-study-resources/strategic-business-leader/study-support-guide.html And for P4 it's 16 weeks as can be seen here (on page 7) https://www.accaglobal.com/us/en/student/exam-support-resources/professional-exams-study-resources/p4/self-study-guides.html Though for both you are giving less time as recommended, if you think you can be dedicated and manage the time you have well by studying full time(full day!) then you might be able to compensate that. As you can see the recommended time for P4 is lesser than SBL (by 2 weeks) we can say that the syllabus of P4 will not as lengthy as SBL and in the time you have P4 "may be" the better option here. SBL- CASE STUDY Well, it is more suitable to keep SBL as the last paper since it involves a case study, and by doing all the other papers before you can draw in the concepts and matter from them and utilise this in SBL. Again, this is the students' own personal choice and it is upto them to make a decision. But what I don't actually understand how can you be so "sure" that you will not pass the exam even before knowing the result? People have passed papers in which they least expected to do so! It is good that you are preparing for the worst-case scenario but what is important that you do not lose hope. Hope that helps.