CPA Australia GSL study plan

Map the full GSL syllabus into a one-page concept map linking strategy formulation, implementation, and leadership themes

Define and write out in your own words the distinction between intended, emergent, and realised strategy, with one worked example each

Build a glossary of 25 core strategy terms (competitive advantage, strategic fit, value chain, industry lifecycle) with a one-sentence definition and a real company illustration for each

Draft a personal study calendar allocating 7 hours per week across the 8 weeks, blocking two weekday evenings and one weekend session

Compare at least four strategy frameworks (PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces, SWOT, resource-based view) and note when each is most diagnostic

Apply Five Forces to one ASX-listed company and write a half-page conclusion on industry attractiveness

Apply the resource-based view (VRIN/VRIO criteria) to the same company and identify which resources meet the threshold for sustained advantage

Summarise in 300 words how external analysis and internal analysis must be integrated rather than done in sequence

Distinguish corporate-level, business-level, and functional strategy and give two decisions that belong uniquely to each level

Explain diversification, vertical integration, and market entry mode choices, listing two advantages and two risks of each

Evaluate one real acquisition or divestment and judge whether it created or destroyed shareholder value, citing the logic used

Practise writing a 200-word recommendation that states a strategic option, the rationale, and the main risk

Explain how strategy is translated into structure, systems, and culture, and identify two misalignment failure modes

Describe the role of governance, ethics, and stakeholder salience in strategic decision-making

Analyse one Australian corporate governance failure or controversy and attribute causes to specific control weaknesses

Draft a 250-word answer on why ethical failures are usually strategic failures rather than isolated incidents

Define leadership capabilities required at each organisational level and contrast them with management capabilities

Explain how leaders build and change organisational culture, citing at least two mechanisms (symbols, rewards, hiring, storytelling)

Analyse a documented leadership transition and assess what the incoming leader did well and poorly

Write a 250-word reflection on which leadership capability you would find hardest to demonstrate and why

Map the change-management process from diagnosis through institutionalisation and list the main reasons change programs fail

Distinguish planned from emergent change and judge which suits a fast-moving industry

Explain how performance measurement systems (KPIs, the balanced scorecard) link strategy to execution and how they can distort behaviour

Design a one-page change plan for a hypothetical mid-size firm entering a new market, including milestones and resistance-mitigation steps

Synthesise the whole syllabus into a single integrated framework showing how analysis, choice, implementation, and leadership connect

Write two full practice extended responses under timed conditions (45 minutes each) and self-mark against a written rubric

Compile a one-page list of your ten weakest concepts from weeks 1 to 6 and re-teach each to yourself in three sentences

Rehearse structuring an answer: issue identification, framework selection, application, recommendation, risks

Complete one full mock exam under strict time conditions and mark it honestly against the rubric

Rework every answer from the mock that scored below your target, rewriting the weakest two in full

Review the ten weak concepts from week 7 and confirm each can now be explained without notes

Finalise a one-page exam-day plan covering time allocation per question, framework selection heuristics, and a checklist for recommendation quality