ACCA – Strategic Business Leader (SBL – INT) – Compulsory

The Strategic Business Leader subject is designed to mirror the workplace and requires you to demonstrate a blend of technical, ethical, and professional skills. It tests your ability to function as an accountant in a simulated workplace and asks you to respond to requests from people in various roles. It will not only be the technical quality of your answer that matters, but how professional your response is.

An important factor in SBL subject success is the building on the knowledge studied earlier in the ACCA qualification, including governance, ethics, risk management, internal control, strategy and leadership.  So, whether you are new to ACCA, have not studied for a while, or just want to check how well you know the core materials, we have created 5 self-check quizzes to assess your underlying knowledge and get personalised advice on your next steps and how to study for SBL efficiently.

Note: The Strategic Business Leader (SBL – INT) exam is part of the Strategic Professional Level of the ACCA qualification. No exemption for this subject.

• Apply excellent leadership and ethical skills to set the ‘tone from the top’ and promote a positive culture within the organisation, adopting a whole organisation perspective in managing performance and value creation.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the governance and agency system of an organisation and recognise the responsibility of the board or other agents towards their stakeholders, including the organisation’s social responsibilities and the reporting implications.
• Evaluate the strategic position of the organisation against the external environment and the availability of internal resources, to identify feasible strategic options.
• Analyse the risk profile of the organisation and of any strategic options identified, within a culture of responsible risk management.
• Select and apply appropriate information technologies and data analytics, to analyse factors affecting the organisation’s value chain to identify strategic opportunities and implement strategic options within a framework of robust IT security controls.
• Evaluate management reporting and internal control and audit systems to ensure compliance and the achievement of organisation’s objectives and the safeguarding of organisational assets.
• Apply high level financial techniques from the Applied Skills exams in the planning, implementation and evaluation of strategic options and actions.
• Enable success through innovative thinking, applying best in class strategies and disruptive technologies in the management of change, initiating, leading and organising projects, while effectively managing talent and other business resources.
• Apply a range of Professional Skills in addressing requirements within the Strategic Leader examination and in preparation for, or to support, current work experience.
• Demonstrate other employability and digital skills in preparing for and taking SBL examinations.