ACCA SBR: Quick Guide to Study & Exam - Got it Pass

ACCA Strategic Business Reporting (SBR) exam is newly introduced to replace P2 Corporate Reporting. Even the syllabus is no significant change, ...  ACCAStrategicBusinessReporting QuickGuidetoStudyandExamACCASBR(StrategicBusinessReporting)isoneofpapersinStrategicProfessionalModule. SinceSeptember2018,theexamstructureofallpapersinStrategicProfessionalModulehavebeenchanged.ThoughSBRsyllabushasnosignificantchangefromP2,examrequirementsaredifferentsoyourstudyandpreparationshouldbechanged.Thesyllabusstatesitsaimistodiscuss,applyandevaluatetheconcepts,principlesandpracticesthatunderpinthepreparationandinterpretationofcorporatereportsinvariouscontextsincludingtheethicalassessmentofmanagements’stewardshipandtheinformationneedsofadiversegroupofstakeholders.   ACCAStrategicBusinessReportingpassratesarerangedbetween48%and52%inthepastsessions.SomeonewouldliketoknowwhetherpracticingP2pastpaperscanhelpthemtopassSBRexam.Sadly,theanswerisno.Intermsoftechnicalknowledge,P2pastpapersareprobablyvalidbuttherequirementsaresignificantlydifferentbetweentwoexams. ​ Inexaminer’sreport,ithighlightssomeareasthatmanystudentsperformancecanbeimprovedsuchasconceptualframework,accountingforinvestment,ethicaltopicsandcurrentissuessuchasExposureDraft.   ItisimportanttostressthattheknowledgeandskillsinStrategicBusinessReportingarepartlyrelevanttoAdvancedAuditandAssurance(AAA)exam.IfyouarefamiliarwithSBRknowledge,itisnoanadvantagetotakeAAAexam. CourseHighlights Tuitionandrevisionvideos(50hours) Studyandrevisionnotes Tutorsupport(replywithin24hours) Mockexamwithfeedback MoreDetails&SampleClassWanttogetmoreSBRexamtips&guidance?CheckourtechnicalarticlesSBRTechnicalArticlesExamStructure 3-hour15-minutes  examAllquestionsarecompulsory.The3hoursand15minutesexamwillassessprofessionalcompetenceswithinthebusinessreportingenvironment. ​ SectionAcomprisestwoscenariobasedquestionsthatwilltotal50marks.   ThefirstquestionwillbeongroupfinancialstatementsfromSyllabusareaDbutisalsolikelysomeconsiderationoffinancialreportingissuesfromSyllabusareaCcanbefound.   Thesecondquestionmainlyasksforethicalimplicationsandreportingimplicationsofspecificeventsinagivenscenario.   SectionBcomprisestwoquestions,whichmaybescenarioorcase-studyoressaybasedandwillcontainbothdiscursiveandcomputationalelements.   OnequestioninSectionBisbasedonamodernbusinessscenarioandwillrequiretheapplicationofaccountingstandardstothosescenarios.   AnotherquestioninSectionBcontainsanyelementofthesyllabusbutislikelytobescenariobasedandmainlyfocusedoncurrentissues,investorissuesorinterpretation. ​ ACCAwillrolloutStrategicProfessionalCBEin selectedcountriesfromMarch2020,hereisthelinkyoucanfindStrategicProfessionalCBESpecimenexams:  https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/student/exam-support-resources/strategic-professional-specimen-exams-cbe.htmlDoyouwanttojoinonlinecoursetopasstheexam?Check OnlineCourse details. SeeMoreWhyspreadsheetskillisimportanttoyou?   Firstly,ACCAstarts ComputerBased StrategicProfessionalexam(CBE). Itmeansyouneedtoworkyourexamonaspreadsheetwithsomecommonlyusedformulae.  ​ Next,alotofaccountingjobsrequiregoodspreadsheetskillsasitimprovesefficiency.   Areyouconfidentofyourspreadsheetskills?  ​ Clicktoseetopratedspreadsheettrainingcoursebenefittoyourexamandjob!SyllabusFundamentalknowledgefromFinancialReporting(FR)isassumedinSBRstudyandexam.SBRrequirestheknowledgenotonlyoncorporatereportingfrompreparerperspectivebutalsofromtheperspectiveofavarietyofdifferentstakeholders. ​ Inaddition,SBRrequiresacohesiveunderstandingoftheIASB’sConceptualFrameworkandtousetheframeworkinapplyingIFRSstandardsincorporatereports.OneimportantpointisSBRdemandsbothprinciplesandpracticesofIFRSstandardsinapplyingcorporatereportingforbothgroupsandsingleentities.   SBRgoesfurtherinmoredepthforIFRSstandards.AnexampleshowswhatthedifferencebetweenSBRandFRisleaseaccounting,thatisIFRS16.InFR,leaseaccountingmainlyfocusesonlesseeaccountingbutinSBR,thesyllabusextendstoincludelessoraccounting.   InFinancialReporting(FR),itisnoneedtoworryaboutstakeholdersotherthanfinancialreports.ButSBRlooksfurtherwhileyouareexpectedtodevelopinnarrativereportingsuchasIntegratedReporting(IR).   Finally,thesyllabusaddressescurrentdevelopmentsincorporatereportingandtheimplicationsofanypotentialchanges.Aspointedoutbyexaminer,itistheweakestpartintheexam,e.g.manystudentsdonotshowtheirstudycoveringExposureDraft.Thereare6 sectionsinthesyllabus,whichare–A         FundamentalethicalandprofessionalprinciplesApplyfundamentalethicalandprofessionalprinciplestoethicaldilemmasanddiscusstheconsequencesofunethicalbehaviour.B         ThefinancialreportingframeworkEvaluatetheappropriatenessofthefinancialreportingframeworkandcriticallydiscusschangesinaccountingregulationC        ReportingthefinancialperformanceofarangeofentriesApplyprofessionaljudgementinthereportingofthefinancialperformanceofarangeofentitiesD     FinancialstatementsofgroupsofentitiesPreparethefinancialstatementsofgroupsofentitiesE     InterpretingfinancialstatementsfordifferentstakeholdersInterpretfinancialstatementsfordifferentstakeholdersF     TheimpactofchangesinaccountingregulationCommunicatetheimpactofchangesandpotentialchangesinaccountingregulationonfinancialreportingAsdescribedinexamformat,youshouldpayattentiononhowtheexaminersetsthequestionsandplanyourstudy. Question1usuallycoversgroupreportingandsomeoffinancialperformancereportingincluded.ItmeansAreaCandDisthefocus.Question4usuallycoverscurrentissuesandinterpretingfinancialstatementstodifferentstakeholders.Therefore,AreaEandFisconsideredtostudyinasequentialorder.TimeManagementWith195minutesavailableinSBRexam,Istillrecommendyoutousethe“GoldenRule”intimemanagementforeachquestion,thatis1markper1.8minute.Andwhy? ​ InStrategicProfessionalexam,youneedtospendtimeinscanningthequestionstogetfeelforthem.Inaddition,youneedtoplanhowtoputyourpointsineachquestion.   Otherthan“GoldenRule”,theriskinSBRexamismanystudentstoomuchtimeoncalculationsandhaveinsufficienttimeonnarrativepartsofanswers.   However,themarksallocationbetweencomputationanddiscursiveansweris50:50ordiscursiveanswersharesmorethancomputation.   YoushouldpracticeACCASBRspecimenexamonhowtowritevalidpointswithdetailsrequiredbeforeexam.ItisverycriticaltopassSBRwithadequatepracticeonhowtomakeyouranswersmeetexaminer’srequirements.AlotofstudentsaskwhethertheyneedPaperSBR textbookandsometutorssaidit'stheirownchoice. ​ Ifyouranswertoeitherofquestionbelowisyes,buythebook: Areyoudoingself-studywithsomepopulartutor'snotes?  DoyoucommittoACCAstudy? ​ Draftyourstudyplan,buyatextbookandfollowtheplanstrictlyisthepathtosuccess. ​ Clickphoto toseespecialoffer andFREE delivery*! ​ *Terms&ConditionsApplyExamTipsFromthepastSBRexams,thepassratesarebelow50%whichisslightlylowerthanP2.Itisfoundsomestudents’approachtoSBRquestionsarenochangefromP2whichmeanstheydidalotofcomputationbutverylittleonnarrativediscussions.ACCASBRexaminerclaimstheapproachtoSBRquestionsisverydifferentfromP2.StudentscannotpassSBRexambyonlyworkingwellincomputationpart. ​ Ifindexaminerputalotofcommentsonthefollowingareasinthepastexams– Manystudentswereabletoproduceconsolidatedfinancialstatementsbutnotinexplanatorynote; Ethicalquestionswerefairlyattempted; Performanceonapplyingaccountingstandardsandconceptualframeworkweregenerallypoor; Anotherconcernisnotmanystudentsareabletodiscusscurrentissuesandinterpretation.   ‘Linkage’isoneofmanyfeaturesinSBRexam.   WhatImention‘linkage’isthesub-requirementinthequestions.Forexample,anaccountingissueisaskedinQuestion3a.Then,moreinformationisgiventoyouforQuestion3banditasksyoutoextendyourdiscussionabouttheaccountingissuesinQuestion3a.   Inthiscase,this‘sub-requirement’isbettertobeansweredafterthefirstquestionyouanswered.Youareadvisedtoplanyourtimebeforeansweringalltherequirementsinaquestion.   Astheexamstructureisdisclosed,Isuggestyoutoplanhowtoanswerinyourfinalpreparation.ProbablyansweringQuestion1firstandthenQuestion2,followedbyQuestion3andQuestion4ismostsuitabletoyourstudybuddybutit’snotforyou.   Youneedtopracticemockexambeforesothatyouknowwhichapproachisthebesttoyou.ACCASBR Usefullinks:SBRSyllabusandStudyguide(Sep21-Jun22) ​ SBRSpecimenExam ​ SBRPassExamPapers ​ SBRACCATechnicalArticles ​ SBRACCAExaminer'sGuidanceandReports