How to Answer Risk Management Questions in ACCA SBL
SBL risk questions reward a structured, applied approach — identify, assess, respond. Here's how to frame an answer that also picks up the professional-skills marks.
Risk management questions in ACCA SBL ask you to identify, assess and respond to the risks facing an organisation. Because SBL is marked on both technical and professional skills, structure and application matter as much as the risk knowledge itself.
A framework that scores
- Identify the specific risks in the scenario — strategic, operational, financial, compliance and reputational.
- Assess each using likelihood and impact, so you can prioritise.
- Recommend a response using the TARA model — transfer, avoid, reduce or accept.
- Explain how the response would be monitored and who is accountable.
Use the scenario, always
Generic risk lists score badly. Name the risk that is actually present in the case, explain why it matters to this organisation, and tailor the response to its circumstances and risk appetite.
Don't forget the professional-skills marks
- Analysis — break the situation down rather than describing it.
- Evaluation — weigh options and reach a supported judgement.
- Scepticism — probe assumptions and management's optimism.
- Commercial acumen — show awareness of practical business reality.
SBL is where structure and application decide the result. Marking a full risk answer against the official ACCA scheme with The 50% Club shows you where the technical and professional-skills marks actually landed.