Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Strategic Business Leader (SBL) Syllabus

Strategic Business Leader (SBL) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Strategic Business Leader (SBL) in Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Leadership and Governance

   3 topics

   • Concepts of leadership
     • Effective leaders and management styles
     • Mentoring and coaching
   • Corporate governance
     • Agency theory and governance structures
     • UK Corporate Governance Code
     • Board responsibilities and committees
   • Integrated reporting and disclosure
     • The capitals model
     • Sustainability and ESG reporting
2. 2

   Strategy and Strategic Choice

   3 topics

   • Strategic position analysis
     • Environmental and capability analysis
     • SWOT and competitive advantage
   • Strategic choices
     • Porter's generic strategies
     • Ansoff's growth matrix
     • Methods of strategic development
   • Strategy in action
     • Strategic options evaluation, SFA criteria
3. 3

   Risk and Control

   3 topics

   • Identifying and assessing risk
     • Risk categories and appetite
     • Risk mapping and TARA responses
   • Managing and monitoring risk
     • Enterprise risk management (COSO)
     • Internal control systems
   • Internal audit and assurance
     • Role and scope of internal audit
4. 4

   Technology, Data and Innovation

   4 topics

   • Strategic use of technology
     • Digital disruption and transformation
     • E-business models
   • Data analytics and big data
     • Sources, value and the 4 Vs of data
   • Cyber security and IT risk
     • Cyber threats and controls
   • Process and quality improvement
     • Business process re-engineering
     • Lean and value chain analysis
5. 5

   Organisational Control, Finance and Ethics

   3 topics

   • Financial analysis for decision making
     • Performance evaluation
     • Cost and management decisions
   • Project management
     • Project lifecycle and the iron triangle
     • Gateways and stakeholder management
   • Professional and ethical behaviour
     • Professional scepticism and judgement
     • Ethical theories and Tucker's model
     • Corporate social responsibility
6. 6

   Professional Skills and Communication

   3 topics

   • Applying professional skills
     • Commercial acumen
     • Analysis and evaluation
     • Scepticism and judgement
   • Effective communication
     • Report writing and briefing notes
     • Tailoring communication to stakeholders
   • Influence and persuasion
     • Negotiation and conflict management
     • Presenting recommendations

Strategic Business Leader (SBL) flashcards for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

20 of 73 cards from the Strategic Business Leader (SBL) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the distinction between leadership and management in a strategic context?

   Management is concerned with planning, organising, controlling and administering existing systems to deliver consistency and order. Leadership is concerned with setting direction, creating vision, aligning and motivating people, and driving change. Leaders do the right things; managers do things right.

2. Describe the difference between transactional and transformational leadership.

   Transactional leadership motivates through exchanges (rewards for performance, sanctions for failure) and focuses on routine, short-term task completion. Transformational leadership inspires followers to exceed self-interest for the organisation through vision, charisma, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration, driving long-term change.

3. In Goleman's framework, what are the components of emotional intelligence relevant to leadership?

   Self-awareness, self-regulation (self-management), motivation, empathy (social awareness) and social skill (relationship management). Emotional intelligence is a key differentiator of effective strategic leaders.

4. What are the four key concepts (pillars) underlying good corporate governance?

   Fairness, openness/transparency, independence, and accountability. (Some frameworks add probity/honesty, responsibility, reputation and judgement.) These underpin codes such as the UK Corporate Governance Code.

5. Under the agency theory view of governance, what is the agency problem?

   Directors (agents) are appointed to act in the interests of shareholders (principals), but may pursue their own interests instead. This information asymmetry and goal divergence creates agency costs, which governance mechanisms (monitoring, incentives, independent boards) aim to reduce.

6. Contrast the rules-based and principles-based approaches to corporate governance.

   A rules-based approach (e.g. US Sarbanes-Oxley) sets out legal requirements that must be complied with, breach being unlawful. A principles-based approach (e.g. UK Code) sets broad principles applied on a 'comply or explain' basis, offering flexibility but relying on disclosure and shareholder judgement.

7. What does the UK Corporate Governance Code recommend regarding the roles of Chairman and CEO?

   The roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer should be separated and not exercised by the same individual. This divides responsibility, preventing concentration of power and ensuring the board can hold executive management to account.

8. What is the role of Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) in corporate governance?

   NEDs provide independent judgement and oversight on strategy, performance, resources, risk and standards of conduct. They scrutinise executive performance, sit on key committees (audit, remuneration, nomination) and help protect shareholder interests by reducing dominance of executives.

9. Name the three principal board committees recommended by governance codes and their main purpose.

   Audit committee (oversees financial reporting, internal controls, internal and external audit). Remuneration committee (sets executive pay to align with long-term success). Nomination committee (oversees board composition and succession). All should be composed mainly of independent NEDs.

10. What is Integrated Reporting <IR> and its primary aim?

    <IR>, developed by the IIRC (now IFRS Foundation), is a concise communication about how an organisation's strategy, governance, performance and prospects create value over time. Its aim is integrated thinking and reporting on value creation across short, medium and long term for providers of financial capital.

11. List the six capitals used in the Integrated Reporting <IR> Framework.

    Financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural capital. An organisation uses, affects and transforms these capitals through its business model to create (or erode) value.

12. What are the guiding principles of the Integrated Reporting Framework?

    Strategic focus and future orientation; connectivity of information; stakeholder relationships; materiality; conciseness; reliability and completeness; and consistency and comparability.

13. In Mendelow's stakeholder matrix, how are stakeholders classified and managed?

    By Power (high/low) against Interest (high/low): Low power/low interest = minimal effort; Low power/high interest = keep informed; High power/low interest = keep satisfied; High power/high interest = key players (manage closely). It guides where to direct stakeholder management effort.

14. What three tests does Johnson, Scholes and Whittington's SAFe (suitability, acceptability, feasibility) framework apply to strategic options?

    Suitability (does it address the strategic position/fit the environment and capabilities?); Acceptability (expected return, risk and stakeholder reaction?); Feasibility (do we have the resources and competences to deliver it?).

15. What does a PESTEL analysis examine in strategic position analysis?

    The macro-environment: Political, Economic, Social (sociocultural), Technological, Environmental (ecological) and Legal factors. It identifies external influences and drivers of change affecting the organisation.

16. State the five forces in Porter's Five Forces model of industry analysis.

    Threat of new entrants; bargaining power of suppliers; bargaining power of buyers; threat of substitute products/services; and competitive rivalry among existing firms. Together they determine industry attractiveness and profitability.

17. What is the resource-based view, and what makes a resource a source of sustainable competitive advantage (VRIO/VRIN)?

    The resource-based view holds that competitive advantage comes from internal resources and capabilities. A resource yields sustainable advantage if it is Valuable, Rare, Inimitable (costly to copy) and Organised to exploit / Non-substitutable (VRIO / VRIN).

18. Distinguish between threshold and core (distinctive) competences.

    Threshold competences/resources are the minimum needed to compete and stay in the market. Core (distinctive) competences are unique capabilities that competitors find hard to imitate and that underpin sustainable competitive advantage.

19. What are Porter's three generic competitive strategies?

    Cost leadership (lowest cost in the industry), differentiation (offering uniquely valued products/services), and focus (cost focus or differentiation focus on a narrow segment). Porter warned against being 'stuck in the middle'.

20. Describe the directions of growth in the Ansoff matrix.

    Existing products/existing markets = market penetration; existing products/new markets = market development; new products/existing markets = product development; new products/new markets = diversification (highest risk).

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