Strategic Business Leader (SBL) essentials on one page

About Strategic Business Leader (SBL)
The Strategic Business Leader (SBL) exam is an integrated case study that is designed to mirror the workplace. It assesses not only technical and ethical skills, but also the professional skills expected of effective leaders and advisers to senior management. Students are advised to complete the Ethics and Professional Skills module (EPSM) before attempting SBL.

Overview of SBL

Illustration covering communication, commercial acumen, employability and technology, scepticism, evaluation and analysis. The inner area of the illustration covers topics A-H: A - leadership, B - governance, C - strategy, D - risk, E - technology and data analytics, F - organisational control and audit, G - finance in planning and decision-making.

How to approach your studies

Advice from the examining team

  • The SBL exam requires students to demonstrate organisational leadership, senior consultancy or advisory capabilities and relevant professional skills.
  • Students must learn the whole SBL syllabus and apply that knowledge to tasks in the exam.
  • In addition to applying technical knowledge, students must demonstrate professionalism in the context of the five professional skills when making their technical answer points.
  • Prior understanding of the information in the pre-seen will enable students save time in the exam.

Read more in the Examining team guidance.

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ACCA Study Hub

The ACCA Study Hub is an exclusive digital platform providing free access to study materials, flashcards, short quizzes and practice questions.

Find out how the ACCA Study Hub helps you prepare for your exams.

CBE Practice Platform

  • Get familiar with the exam environment by doing past, practice and mock exams.
  • Self-mark your answers within the platform using marking guides and sample answers.

Access the CBE Practice Platform here

Link to support resources

  • Access the SBL syllabus, technical articles & topic explainer videos, mock & debrief videos, the compass planning tool and additional support resources here.
  • Subscribe to the official ACCA student YouTube channel for the latest videos to help you prepare for your exams.

About the exam

Exam format

SBL is a three-hour, 15-minute case study comprising three compulsory tasks.

  • There are 80 technical marks and 20 professional skills marks.
  • Pre-seen material is released two weeks before the exam, containing information on the business activities of the case study organisation and the industry in which it operates.

Professional skills marks

The exam has 20 professional skills marks available – four for each of the areas below:

  1. Analysis 
  2. Commercial acumen 
  3. Communication
  4. Evaluation
  5. Scepticism

See more guidance on Professional Skills in SBL

Most frequently used verbs in the SBL exam

Evaluate – Determine the scenario in the light of the arguments for & against, with evidence.

Discuss – Consider and debate in detail about the pros & cons of an issue using arguments in favor or against.

Recommend – Advise the appropriate actions to pursue in terms the recipient will understand.

Read this article for more about exam verbs.

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