ACCA SBR September 2026: Question 3 Is the Worst-Answered Question in the Paper — Here's Why
SBR passed 47% in June 2026 — you have to go back to December 2022 to find it that low. And the examiner has already told you where the marks disappear: question 3.
It isn't a knowledge problem. It's a clock problem.
The examiner says it outright
The September/December 2025 SBR examiner's report doesn't hedge: question 3 "is often the worst performing question across the whole paper". The reasons given are, in order — spending a disproportionate amount of time on questions 1 and 2, not reading the question properly, and not being adequately prepared. The report's closing tips end on the same note: prepare for all questions in the exam, not just questions 1 and 2.
Question 1 is where the time goes. The report warns that Q1 involves technical workings and candidates often spend too long on it, so relatively straightforward marks are lost later. In SD25 that was Woodfleet — an associate disposal, a cash flow hedge, and a pre-populated spreadsheet to correct. Candidates arrived at Arundel in question 3 with 25 marks of held for sale, an investment property transfer and a CGU impairment in front of them, and no clock left.
What that actually cost
The damage in Q3 was basic measurement, not obscure theory. On the plant and equipment, many candidates "simply did not know the measurement rule for assets held for sale". On the factory building, a surprising number did not know the measurement requirements on transfer to investment property — several thought the gain went to profit or loss on transfer and subsequent remeasurements to OCI. On the impairment, few understood the need to compare like with like, so current assets stayed in the carrying amount of the CGU.
Then the padding. Candidates wrote out IAS 16 principles that weren't asked for. They saw the words "operating lease" and wrote detailed IFRS 16 — many from the lessee's perspective, for a property that wasn't leased out during the year. They explained indicators of impairment when the question stated an indicator existed. Some wrote about IAS 41. In Q1(a)(i) the verb was "calculate", and a surprising number explained and justified the calculation anyway: no marks, and minutes gone.
Wrong answer vs right answer
Plant with a carrying amount of $500,000 is classified as held for sale. Fair value is $470,000; costs to sell are $20,000.
What a lot of scripts said: "The plant is remeasured to its fair value of $470,000. The $30,000 loss is recognised in other comprehensive income."
What earns the marks: "Under IFRS 5 the plant is measured at the lower of carrying amount ($500,000) and fair value less costs to sell ($470,000 − $20,000 = $450,000). It is therefore written down to $450,000 and the $50,000 loss is recognised as an impairment in profit or loss. Depreciation ceases from the date of classification and the asset is presented separately as held for sale."
Same scenario, same standard. One line of measurement rule is the difference between zero and full marks.
Three things to do before September
1. Time-box question 1 and leave when the time is up. At 1.95 minutes a mark, a 30-mark Q1 is 58 minutes. Not 75. The examiner explicitly reminds candidates they need not answer questions in the order presented — if Q3 is your weak spot, sit down and answer it first while you're sharp.
2. Write the measurement rule for each standard as one line. IFRS 5: lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell, write-down to profit or loss, depreciation stops. IAS 40 transfer from owner-occupied PPE to the fair value model: revalue under IAS 16 at the date of transfer with the gain in OCI, then fair value movements after transfer go to profit or loss — the examiner found candidates had this exactly the wrong way round. IAS 36 CGU: compare carrying amount and recoverable amount on the same basis, then allocate pro rata to non-current assets. Learn the rule before you learn the discussion.
3. Answer the verb, then stop. "Calculate" means no narrative. "Explain the effect on the financial statements" means numbers and a consequence, not a summary of the standard. Copying an exhibit scores nothing — the report says so in three separate questions.
The bottom line
SBR came in at 47% in June 2026. Questions 3 and 4 carry half the paper between them — 50 marks — and they are the ones the examiner keeps reporting as left short.
You don't lose question 3 because you don't know it. You lose it because you spent it on question 1.