Introducing Praecuro Vet Services (PVS)…
The New ACCA SBL Pre-seen for June 2024
ACCA has just released the Strategic Business Leader (SBL) pre-seen for the June 2024 exam!
And, it’s all about…
Praecuro Vet Services!
Praecuro Vet Services Ltd. (or PVS for short) is, as the name suggests, a veterinary services company based in the fictional country of Arland.
With the introduction of a pre-seen remaining relatively fresh (the first one was only introduced for the September 2023 exam), the SBL exam has evolved into a more demanding and true-to-life experience for qualifying accountants.
Carefully examining the Praecuro Vet Services pre-seen represents a precious use of your time, primarily as getting to know the pre-seen before your exam will save you loads of time during the exam itself!
So, why not read our introduction to the PVS pre-seen, and explore what you need to do to get the most out of it in the remaining few weeks up to the June exam?
FREE Pre-seen Analysis Pack
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| Access our free pre-seen analysis video and guide pack for the June 2024 ACCA SBL exam when you create your free Astranti account! |
1. Overview of the Praecuro Vet Services pre-seen
FREE Pre-seen Analysis Pack
|
| Access our free pre-seen analysis video and guide pack for the June 2024 ACCA SBL exam when you create your free Astranti account! |
1. Overview of the Praecuro Vet Services pre-seen
In your ACCA SBL exam, you’ll have to utilise the information about Praecuro Vet Services and apply it to the questions you receive. So, let’s get straight to it!
Established 32 years ago by Pietr Praecuro, PVS is the fifth-largest veterinary services company in Arland. Having said that, with the largest three organisations representing over 50% of the overall market share, Praecuro’s 6% market share remains relatively small in comparison.
Some of the key challenges faced by Praecuro Vet Services within the industry are:
- Recruitment and retention
- Keeping up with increased demand
- Long working hours
- Rising costs of veterinary training
- Pet owners not being able to afford services
- Low client loyalty
- High competition/declining market share
So, lots to think about when completing your pre-seen analysis!
But don’t just take our word for it! Ensure you have read and understand the complete pre-seen information by logging into your myACCA account via your exam planner.
For an in-depth exploration of our ACCA expert insights and a thorough examination of the pre-seen content, be sure to sign up for our free pre-seen pack!
2. How to approach the June 2024 pre-seen
You’ve got your hands on the pre-seen material, so what comes next?
The most important thing right now is to make the most of your time. Our advice? Go through and read the Praecuro Vet Services pre-seen at least three times. This will help you get fully acquainted with the content and grasp it thoroughly.
But, before diving into repeated readings, it’s crucial to pinpoint the key components you need to focus on.
The ACCA has stated that you won’t need to conduct additional research about Praecuro Vet Services, so there’s no pressure to become a veterinary expert in 2 weeks! Instead, you will need to be an expert on the information in the SBL pre-seen itself, so like we said above, be sure to read it carefully.
With only a fornight to prepare, there’s a compromise to consider – the ACCA SBL exam has been shortened from four hours to three hours and fifteen minutes.
To make the most of these changes, it’s crucial to familiarise yourself with the pre-seen before entering the exam.
Remember, the SBL pre-seen will be accessible for reference during the exam (should you need it), but ideally, you wouldn’t want to spend precious exam time going through it from the beginning on the day itself.
With that, dedicate some time beforehand to immerse yourself into the business of Praecuro Vet Services, rather than trying to do so during the exam when you should be concentrating on understanding and structuring your responses to the questions effectively.
Feeling uncertain about the exam’s new pre-seen component?
One of the key takeaways from the pre-seen being introduced is that marking will focus less on your ability to read lots of new information during the exam. You can instead focus on applying the theory you’ve learned to the company.
While the syllabus has largely remained the same, we do understand that this new element can throw you off course. That’s why we’ve created a definitive guide for everything you need to know about the new ACCA SBL exam.
3. Pre-seen exam challenges
While, the update of the pre-seen brings with it several advantages (including the qualification being more relevant to your future potential employers and letting you do some additional preparation), this doesn’t mean the update is without its challenges!
Consider the following potential challenges presented by the ACCA Strategic Business Leader exam with its updated Praecuro Vet Services pre-seen component:
Time:
Instead of devoting the weeks before the exam to studying theory, you will need to spend these last two weeks studying PVS (probably alongside working a job and whatever other commitments you have in your life), which can be demanding.
Difficulty:
The examiners will now expect you to have entered the exam with a full understanding of PVS as a company.
The questions you’ll be asked will likely now be more demanding to take this into account, as you won’t be using your brainpower to get your head around the scenario during the ACCA SBL exam.
A new format:
The SBL pre-seen is the only pre-seen element in the ACCA exams, so you may never have encountered this form of exam preparation before. Knowing how to prioritise your time, both before and during the exam itself, may be difficult for you.
(Note: You might want to check out our Free ACCA SBL Time Management Guide)
Top tip from us! Make sure you practice plenty of mock exams to improve your time management and answer planning.
4. Importance of mock exams
Our advice? Make the most of every chance to undertake as many mock exams as possible!
With only 2 weeks between the release of the Praecuro Vet Services pre-seen and the June exam, you’ll likely encounter several mock exams that are rather general and not specifically tailored to the pre-seen. Therefore, if you come across any practice exams that specifically challenge your ability to apply what you’ve learned to PVS, grab them! Such targeted preparation could prove extremely beneficial in the run-up to your exam and might provide you with a competitive advantage.
Arguably, the most crucial aspect to consider when tackling mock exams (or any practice questions) is to simulate exam conditions. This means eliminating all distractions (including study notes) and timing yourself as you would in the actual exam. Failing to acclimate to the time constraints during practice could leave you at a significant disadvantage in the actual exam!
At Astranti, we are offering 2 mocks based on the actual pre-seen! So make sure you make full use of them to understand what you need to work on before the all-important exam date.
GET YOUR MOCK EXAMS
We have two challenging mock exams for the June 2024 SBL exam, based on the Praecuro Vet Services pre-seen.
5. Useful study material
Still looking for some more study material to help you with the PVS pre-seen? We know time is not your friend!
That’s why we have put together a list of useful videos and free study materials for you to get your hands on.
You can watch the first video from our Praecuro Vet Services pre-seen analysis here, and don’t forget to sign up to access our free pre-seen videos and guides!
Have your say!
What are your first impressions of the PVS pre-seen? Let us know in the comments…
Illustration by Storyset.