SBL — Strategic Business Leader (Integrated Case Study)
SBL (Strategic Business Leader) is a 4-hour open-book integrated case study that tests leadership, governance, risk management, strategy, and professional skills. Pre-seen material is released before the exam.
SBL (Strategic Business Leader) is ACCA's signature integrated case study exam. Unlike other papers, SBL: (1) is open-book — you can bring printed ACCA materials, (2) uses a pre-seen case (released ~6 weeks before the exam), (3) is 4 hours long, (4) tests leadership, governance, risk management, strategy, ethics, and professional skills in a single integrated scenario. There are no separate topic questions — the whole exam centres on the pre-seen case with an unseen element added on exam day.
ACCA releases pre-seen material — a detailed case study about a fictional or real organisation — approximately 6 weeks before the SBL exam. You study this material in depth before the exam. On exam day, you receive an unseen element (new developments, new data) that you must analyse using your pre-seen knowledge.
↗ ACCASBL is open-book. You may bring printed, annotated ACCA study materials and past papers. No electronic devices are permitted. Many candidates annotate the pre-seen heavily before the exam day. Check the current ACCA instructions for SBL on acca.in — permitted materials can vary slightly.
↗ ACCA