4 tips to ace the ACCA strategic professional exams!

You have just finished the applied skills level and you’re wondering how Strategic Professional is going to be different. A comprehensive set of questions have been mentioned beneath to evaluate the most favorable qualification for an aspiring financial candidate.

Style of the exam

There is a definite change in style towards a much deeper application of knowledge and you need to add value when answering questions as the multiple-choice sections have been replaced with a case study approach.

Kaplan’s research shows a strong correlation between students that complete their practice tests and their pass rates and therefore, the secret exam technique at this level is lots of practice and tutor feedback.

Ethics Module

According to ACCA, students who complete the ethics module are 25% more likely to pass the SBL exam. Ideally, you should complete your Ethics and Professional Skills module before, or alongside, your first Strategic Professional paper to increase your chances of passing.

Strategic Professional (Essentials)

SBL & SBR are compulsory exams that require you to demonstrate professional skills that you wouldn’t have come across before such as communication, analysis, skepticism, and commercial acumen so again exam practice is key.

I would recommend you complete SBR before, or alongside, AAA because in SBR you learn about the accounting standards and in AAA you learn about auditing them.

Strategic Professional (Options)

For this tier, you must choose 2 papers between AFM, APM, ATX, and AAA. There’s no set combination, although students often select ATX with AAA and AFM with APM this is not compulsory.

If you liked FM you are likely to enjoy AFM as it builds on earlier knowledge and this is the same with AA and AAA, and others.

If you are working in practice you should do AAA but if you are working in the industry you may find AFM and or APM more useful.

Whatever you choose to do at the next sitting – good luck!