This post is targeted at those taking the Strategic Business Leader (SBL) exam in 2023 with the Association of Chartered & Certified Accountants (ACCA).
This post will provide an overview of:
- what a strategic business leader is,
- common topics that are asking previous examination questions,
- common questions that are asked and any new topics that have been added to the syllabus.
What is a strategic business leader?
A strategic business leader is a person who is responsible for leading and guiding an organisation towards its long-term goals and objectives. This requires the ability to think critically and strategically, to analyse data and information, and to make decisions that align with the organisation’s mission and values.
For a full understanding of what a Strategic Business Leader entails, we highly recommend you enrol onto this SBL ACCA course.
Common topics
Common topics and questions that come up in the ACCA SBL include:
- Strategic planning: This involves understanding how to identify and prioritise the organisation’s goals, develop a plan to achieve those goals, and monitor progress towards their attainment.
- Strategic analysis: This involves understanding how to analyse the organisation’s internal and external environment, including its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and competitors.
- Strategic decision-making: This involves understanding how to use data and information to make informed decisions that align with the organisation’s goals and objectives.
- Strategic leadership: This involves understanding how to motivate and lead a team towards the achievement of the organisation’s goals and objectives.
- Strategic communication: This involves understanding how to communicate effectively with stakeholders, including employees, customers, and shareholders, in order to achieve the organisation’s goals and objectives.
- Strategic implementation: This involves understanding how to effectively implement the organisation’s strategic plan and ensure that it is being followed by all employees.
- Strategic performance management: This involves understanding how to measure and evaluate the organisation’s performance and make adjustments as needed to ensure that it is meeting its goals and objectives.
- Strategic risk management: This involves understanding how to identify and mitigate potential risks that could impact the organisation’s ability to achieve its goals and objectives.
- Strategic innovation: This involves understanding how to foster a culture of innovation and encourage creativity within the organisation in order to stay ahead of competitors and adapt to changing market conditions.
Note that these aren’t a comprehensive series of topics you need to know for the ACCA SBL exam.
Common questions
Some common questions that tend to come up in the ACCA SBL exam include:
- How do you identify and prioritise the organisation’s goals and objectives?
- How do you develop a strategic plan to achieve those goals and objectives?
- How do you analyse the organisation’s internal and external environment?
- How do you use data and information to make strategic decisions?
- How do you motivate and lead a team towards the achievement of the organisation’s goals and objectives?
- How do you communicate effectively with stakeholders in order to achieve the organisation’s goals and objectives?
- How do you implement the organisation’s strategic plan and ensure that it is being followed by all employees?
- How do you measure and evaluate the organisation’s performance and make adjustments as needed?
- How do you identify and mitigate potential risks that could impact the organisation’s ability to achieve its goals and objectives?
- How do you foster a culture of innovation and encourage creativity within the organisation?
Note that these aren’t a comprehensive series of questions you’ll be asked for the ACCA SBL exam.
***Enrol onto the leading ACCA SBL Strategic Business Leader Course taught by Adam Niazi, FCCA, MSc ***
***Buy the book for everything you need to know about Becoming A Strategic Business Leader***
New topics
It is difficult to determine which topics are relatively new on the SBL ACCA syllabus, as the syllabus is subject to change and updates over time. However, some topics that may be considered relatively new on the SBL ACCA syllabus include:
- Digital transformation: This involves understanding how to integrate digital technologies and processes into the organisation in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
- Agile leadership: This involves understanding how to lead and manage teams using agile principles and practices, which prioritise flexibility and adaptability over rigid plans and processes.
- Sustainability and corporate social responsibility: This involves understanding how to incorporate sustainability and social responsibility into the organisation’s strategic planning and decision-making processes.
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning: This involves understanding how to leverage these technologies to improve decision-making, automate processes, and generate insights.
- Data analytics: This involves understanding how to collect, analyse, and interpret data in order to make informed strategic decisions.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of questions that may come up / common topics for the ACCA SBL. This list has been put together based upon previous examination questions. As we know the past isn’t an indicator of the future hence for this disclaimer.
This content can be used as part of the Strategic Business Leader (SBL) module for the Association of Chartered & Certified Accountants (ACCA) examination.
Click here to read more tips & content covered in the Strategic Business Leader module.
For one-to-one private tutoring for the ACCA SBL course, email hello@strategic-business-leadership.com