February 2023
ACCA has introduced a pre-seen element for the SBL exam, starting from September 2023 sitting. It believes the move will ‘better reflect real business life’.
The pre-seen will be released two weeks in advance of the exam session to both tutors and students.
ACCA explained: “The pre-seen is only provided as supporting contextual information, it will not provide any details of what tasks will be set in the exam.”
Another advantage of the pre-seen is that it helps support those students who have English as a second language, who have limited business experience, or who had limited minimal exposure to the industry on which the SBL exam is based.
As much of the background information will be provided in advance, the SBL exam duration will be reduced from four hours to three hours 15 minutes. The format of the exam will change to reflect the reduced time available.
