The Bible and the finance world go hand in hand. As much as it has been seen to interact with other aspects of professionalism, accounting and finance is also a topic that has well been expressed in the bible. The Bible has addressed various concepts that are found in the business world today, and it acts as a good source for those wailing to enter the business world to teach themselves on morals standards. The bible is enriched with concepts that are related to accounting that can either be practiced directly or indirectly. These concepts include topics such as financial management and accounting management which are now being practiced hugely. Both of the ideas started to be witness back in the days when creation was taking place that is, during the time of Adam and Eve who were placed in charge of managing the Garden of Eden found in the book of Genesis 1:28. Also, the pyramids that are found in Egypt also serve as a practice of managing resources (Gellis, Giladi, & Friedman, 2002). It is therefore right to say that human life is full of aspects revolved around accounting and finance events that take place daily. This essay will explore how the concepts found in finance and accounting were being applied in the Bible.
Nowadays, all the concepts that are found in finance and accounting have continued to be applied in various forms that use different techniques that are meant to help them in achieving their purposes. During the old days, the Bible had its procedures related to the concepts also and how they were being applied. First, the internal control concept has several bible verses that have been seen to touch on this concept. This is a concept that could not have been ignored in any way since there were various occasions where massive amounts regarding finance and accounts were involved (Hagerman, 1980). This involvement meant that mechanisms of internal control needed to be set in place to manage the finances. The bible has also been on the front line to support some of the business concepts accepted today such as duties separations, access to assets restrictions, as well as duality in custody of liquid assets. A verse has well supported the internal control concept in the bible found in Micah 7:5-8 that clearly states that "Do not trust a neighbor nor should you put trust in a friend or relative." Despite sounding contrary to human nature, it is clear and correct to the logic nature involved in internal control. Besides, it has outlined a skepticism that should be practiced by every auditing firm (Gellis, Giladi, & Friedman, 2002). Also in the Bible, the verse that supports duality of custody of assets is found in Second Chronicles 24:11 where the High priest together with the King's secretary was jointly holding the charge of the fund. This verse has also expressed a point worth noting regarding internal control in the sense that the Levites secured the funds until the reach of their destination.
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The second concept expressed in the Bible is monitoring. This concept is related to finance and accounting in the sense that a real professional has to monitor the performance of all the resources. This monitoring concept also gives an assurance policy that no outsider has access to the accounts section which limits the chances of defrauding the accounting firm. The bible supports this fact in the book of Second Kings 12:16 and also repeated in the same book verse 22:7. Both of the verses clearly stated that no finance records were kept with the contractors during the building of the temple if by any chance they were found to be less honest. This proves that the bible supports the monitoring process to avoid cases such as fraud in the process (Wild, Shaw, & Chiappetta, 2012). Another part in the bible that supports the concept of monitoring is in the parable of the stewards where the owner found out that he was misusing his funds. To prove that he was keeping records that were meant to monitor all his stewards, he referred to his records to prove his claims. This parable is found in the book of Luke 16:2.
The other concept that has been seen to be applied in the Bible is the concept of accountability. The concept of responsibility is expressed in the bible where it was seen to play a huge role in resolving disputes among different parties or business partners. This concept was seen to be responsible for ensuring that the debtors and the creditors agreed on the due amounts and that the parties that were involved were aware of their share and they respect the other parties. The book of Ecclesiastics 4:1-2 has been clear on this point where it stated that; "One should not be ashamed of keeping strict records with a traveling companion." In simple words, this is a statement that supports the practice of marinating accounts since they have the responsibility of reducing conflicts between travelers of business partners in case they were to occur (Wild, Shaw, & Chiappetta, 2012).
In conclusion, it is clear that the bible has also been very keen on matters regarding finance and accounting concepts. It is also clear that the application of the ideas did not begin in the present world of business but the past and in particular at the beginning of time. Different ways of managing accounts and finances were also applied even in earlier times with the use of concepts such as internal control, monitoring, as well as accountability. This is proof that every business concept that is used in the world of business today can easily be tracked in the biblical days.
References
Gellis, H., Giladi, K., & Friedman, H. H. (2002). Biblical and Talmudic Basis of Accounting Ethics. The CPA Journal, 9 (2).
Hagerman, R. L. (1980). Accounting in the Bible. Accounting Historians Journal, 7 (2).
Wild, J., Shaw, K., & Chiappetta, B. (2012). Fundamental Accounting Principles (21 st ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
