ACCA SBL Strategic Business Leader

The aim of the syllabus is to demonstrate organisational leadership and senior consultancy or advisory capabilities and relevant professional skills, through the context of an integrated case study.

The syllabus for Strategic Business Leader acts as the key leadership syllabus at the Strategic Professional level and is a substantial integrated examination.

The examination requires candidates to demonstrate a range of professional skills demanded by effective leaders or in advising or supporting senior management in directing organisations.

The syllabus therefore combines the main functions of organisations in the context of leadership capability.

The main capabilities of the Strategic Business Leader syllabus assume essential technical skills and knowledge have been acquired in theApplied Knowledge and Applied Skills examinations where some of the core capabilities of Strategic Business Leader will have been introduced in a subject-specific context, such as governance, internal audit, control, risk, finance, and management.

The examination also draws upon a range of ethical and professional skills acquired in the Ethics and Professional Skills module, which should be completed before attempting any of the Strategic Professional examinations .

Learning Objectives:

On successful completion of this exam, candidates should be able to:

• 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.