ACCA Strategic Business Leader (SBL): study notes Area by area, with case scenarios and quizzes.

1. 01A. LeadershipWhat effective leaders bring to strategy and change, how they shape an organisation's culture, and the professional and ethical standards they must meet. The module covers leadership traits, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship and the values that underpin governance, then the cultural web and choosing a leadership style for strategic change. It ends with the public interest, the IESBA Code and ACCA's Code of Ethics and Conduct, ethical threats and conflicts, and combating fraud, bribery and corruption.4 lessons · 2h 50m+

   • Qualities of leadership50 min
   • Leadership and organisational culture50 min
   • Professionalism, ethical codes and the public interest55 min
   • Module 1 quiz15 min
2. 02B. Governance and sustainabilityHow organisations are directed, controlled and held to account. The module starts with agency and with stakeholders, using Mendelow's matrix, and social responsibility, then compares approaches to governance, ownership models and the ICGN Global Governance Principles. It covers integrated reporting and its six capitals, sustainability reporting, EMAS and ISO 14000, the board of directors with its committees and pay, and the governance of public sector organisations.7 lessons · 5h 20m+

   • Agency45 min
   • Stakeholder analysis and organisational social responsibility50 min
   • Governance scope and approaches50 min
   • Reporting to stakeholders55 min
   • The board of directors
3. 03C. StrategyHow an organisation sets its long-term direction, using the Johnson, Scholes and Whittington model of strategic position, strategic choices and strategy into action. You will assess the environment with PESTEL, strategic drift, Porter's Diamond and scenarios, the industry with Porter's five forces, markets and the value chain, and the organisation's own capabilities and SWOT. You will then evaluate the choices of how to compete, which direction to grow in and by which method, using the Ansoff and portfolio matrices and the tests of suitability, acceptability and feasibility.6 lessons · 4h 25m+

   • Concepts of strategy45 min
   • Environmental issues50 min
   • Competitive forces50 min
   • Resources, capabilities and competences45 min
4. 04D. RiskHow leaders identify, assess and manage the risks that come with strategy. You will apply the enterprise risk management approach, classify strategic, operational and climate-related risks, judge risk appetite, and assess risks by likelihood and impact on a risk map. You will then manage them with risk registers, heat maps, the TARA model, spreading and diversification, the ALARP principle, and assurance mapping across the four lines of defence.3 lessons · 2h+

   • Identifying, assessing and measuring risk50 min
   • Managing, monitoring and mitigating risk55 min
   • Module 4 quiz15 min
5. 05E. Technology and data analyticsHow leaders use technology and data to set and deliver strategy: cloud, mobile and smart technology, including the cloud as an alternative to owned systems; big data and the data that matters for decisions on new products, marketing and pricing; and the benefits, risks, controls and ethics of AI, machine learning and robotics. The module then applies Porter's value chain and the 6 I's of e-marketing to e-business, and ends with IT systems security, cyber security and the safeguarding of IT assets, followed by a quiz.6 lessons · 4h 5m+

   • Cloud, mobile and smart technology45 min
   • Big data and data analytics45 min
   • Machine learning, AI and robotics45 min
   • E-business and the value chain45 min
   • IT systems security and control
6. 06F. Organisational control and auditHow organisations control themselves and show that they do: the five components and seventeen principles of the COSO framework, the information management needs, the weaknesses and limits of control systems, and controls against fraud, error, waste and environmental harm. The module then covers the need for internal audit, auditor independence, the audit committee and responses to auditors' recommendations, and ends with reports on internal control to shareholders, internal audit and sustainability audit reports, and the controls behind reliable financial and sustainability reporting, followed by a quiz.4 lessons · 2h 45m+

   • Management and internal control systems50 min
   • Audit and compliance50 min
   • Internal control and management reporting50 min
   • Module 6 quiz15 min
7. 07G. Finance in planning and decision-makingHow finance supports strategy: how technology is transforming the finance sector and the finance function, and how to evaluate business partnering, shared service centres, outsourcing and global business services. The module then brings together the investment requirement, sources of finance, NPV, IRR, payback and ARR, risk and uncertainty, the reporting and tax effects of decisions, and ratio analysis using IFRS 18 profit measures, and ends with cost management, forecasting, budgeting, standard costing and variance analysis, followed by a quiz.4 lessons · 2h 50m+

   • Finance transformation45 min
   • Financial analysis and decision-making techniques60 min
   • Cost and management accounting50 min
   • Module 7 quiz15 min
8. 08H. Enabling success, managing change and project managementHow an organisation organises, innovates, manages its talent and pursues performance excellence to deliver its strategy, and how it leads strategic change and projects. The six lessons cover structure and partnering, disruptive technologies including Fintech and cryptocurrencies, talent management and the POPIT model, the Baldrige model and critical success factors, process redesign and change with Harmon, Lewin and Balogun and Hope Hailey, and projects from business case to post-implementation review. The module finishes with a quiz.7 lessons · 5h 30m+

   • Organising for success: structure and partnering50 min
   • Disruptive technologies, Fintech and innovation50 min
   • Talent management and the POPIT model45 min
   • Performance excellence: the Baldrige model and critical success factors50 min
9. 09I. Professional skillsThe five professional skills that share 20 of the 100 marks in every SBL exam: communication, commercial acumen, analysis, scepticism and evaluation. Each lesson explains what the skill means in the exam, compares a weak and a strong answer to the same short case, and shows you how to practise it. The module finishes with a quiz.6 lessons · 4h+

   • CommunicationFree preview45 min
   • Commercial acumen45 min
   • Analysis45 min
   • Scepticism45 min
   • Evaluation
10. 10J. Other employability and digital skillsHow to prepare for and sit the SBL exam: working with the pre-seen in the two weeks before, managing your time across the three tasks, and choosing and laying out reports, briefing notes, emails and presentation slides in the exam software. The module finishes with a quiz on exam technique.2 lessons · 1h 5m+

    • The SBL exam: working with the pre-seen and the case50 min
    • Module 10 quiz15 min

• ALeadership
• BGovernance and sustainability
• CStrategy
• DRisk
• ETechnology and data analytics
• FOrganisational control and audit
• GFinance in planning and decision-making
• HEnabling success, managing change and project management
• IProfessional skills
• JOther employability and digital skills

Questions