SBL Final Exam Advice

Strategic
Business Leader: Advice for final exam preparations
1. Know your syllabus, but crucially know how to use the theory in the syllabus.
Remember to apply the theory to the scenario and the tasks set by examiner as there
are few marks for simply repeating syllabus knowledge.

2. Know the five ACCA Professional Skills and what you need to do to provide evidence
for each of them in the exam. Do this by learning the three aspects to each
Professional Skill and using these aspects during your answer planning to create skills
evidence in your answer.

3. Know the general format of the exam. The three specimen papers released by the
ACCA and the first real exam in September 18 all had variations in terms of exhibits,
format of questions, mark allocations, and professional skills marks (between 2‐4
marks) so be aware of the possibilities and be ready to be flexible on the day of the
exam. We advise you to practice all these questions prior to sitting the exam.

4. Know the potential answer formats required by the examiner. The required format
will always be stated as part of the task so look for it. The format significantly affects
what the markers expect from you in your answer. You may be asked to provide a
completed PID (Project Initiation Document) for example. We strong recommend
you read the examiners article. The importance of effective communication for SBL,
which you can find here.
https://www.accaglobal.com/an/en/student/exam‐support‐resources/professional‐exams‐
study‐resources/strategic‐business‐leader/examiners‐reports.html
5. Use your Reading and Panning Time (RAPT) well. You have four hours and the
advice from the ACCA is that you should use at least the first 40 minutes to do this.
We advise do not use more than one hour for this. This means there is between 2.25
and 2.5 minutes per technical mark. Use the technical marks to allocate your time.
i.e. 10 technical marks, 2 professional skills marks = 10 technical marks x 2.5 = 25
minutes to plan and write up your answer.

6. Break down the requirement and do only what is requested. Do not provide
answers to things not included in the requirements. Highlight the word AND to
identify where more than one task is asked for. Look for further sentences as this
usually is an indicator there is another part to the question. Missing part of a
requirement could halve available marks for that task making the task impossible to
pass.

Strategic Business Leader: Advice for final exam preparations
7. Read the exhibits and link them to the questions as you go. Read with purpose by
thinking about why is the examiner telling me this? Where might I use the
information? This will mean you are planning as you read. Watch out for when the
time frame has moved on and therefore whether the exhibit is relevant to the
question you are planning. Also don’t assume that only one exhibit relates to one
question, this may not be the case.

8. Always plan your answer. Planning saves time by addressing only the marks
available and avoids excessive or repetitive answers which are time consuming. Start
by looking at the requirements and thinking if there is any “theory” that can apply.
This could be a named theorist (i.e. Porter) or a model or a list of advantages or
disadvantages. Otherwise, use your common business sense to structure and plan
your answer. Do not give up on a particular task as there are always easier marks
which you can achieve.

9. Provide evidence for the Professional Skills marks. The more evidence the marker
can find, the higher the professional skills mark awarded. Use the three aspects of
each professional skills to understand what evidence you can show in your answer.
For example, if it is evaluation then Asses by showing a balanced argument, Estimate
by discussing the future impact and Appraise by providing a clear decision,
conclusion and recommendation based on the evidence and arguments provided.

10. Time management is critical to ensure a good pass. Aim to attempt all 80 technical
marks by being ruthless with your time management. Once you have exhausted the
time for one task then move on to the next task. A strategy of exam coverage is more
effective than using excessive time seeking perfection for one particular task. The
best advice is rework the September 2018 exam or a BPP mock exam under timed
conditions in the weekend before the exam and reflect on how well you managed to
use the four hours available.

11. Be confident. Aim to show leadership by recommending informed decisions. Be the
consultant be discussing the most important factors or advantages/disadvantages.
Be the business guru by being feasible, practical and commercial in your discussion
points and suggestions.

We hope this has helped focus you exam strategy for Strategic Business Leader and
BPP wish you all the very best of luck in your forthcoming exam!

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