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Josh Anderson
10.8.2014
ACCT 212 B14
Prof. Paul Edwards
Faith Integration Project
Faith is so crucial to not only our church lives but also our professional lives.
The way we act and what separates us from non-believers is so important to not
only show others but also live out. This especially applies in the business world, as
there can be a variety of immorality and unethical behaviors. Of all the
characteristics a Christian should hold in the work place, integrity needs to be
focused on for a strong foundation in God.
Throughout the semester we have read from Fundamental Accounting
Principles; Volume 2 chapters 12-25; Wild, Shaw Chiappetta, and through it a
variety of subject matter that accounting involves. One part of the accounting
process is the budget planning, and how we budget for a company. The process is
extremely involved, however, most companies use a budget committee. Wild writes,
“The task of preparing a budget should not be the sole responsibility of any one
department.
Similarly, the budget should not be simply handed down as top management's final
word…Without active employee involvement in preparing budget figures, there is a
risk these employees will feel that the numbers fail to reflect their special problems
and needs” (903). By using committee’s numbers are checked and integrities can
be kept. Using others to help with a project can seen to resemble accountability
with one another like in the Bible.
The Bible calls us to be accountable to one another as well as holding
integrity, and they go hand in hand. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 states, “Two are better than
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one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up
his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him
up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?
And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—
a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”(Openbible.info). Having a budget committee
is one fail safe but when it comes to men and women who work alone, it’s between
them and God. Those times are when the world will look and see how character is
displayed.
Integrity is displayed when no one is around and individuals are by
themselves. Anyone can put on an act, but lying to oneself is different. Business and
accounting require individual integrity to keep one from becoming just another
worldly business person. Amy Rees Anderson from Forbes magazine writes,
“Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether
or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no
matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of integrity takes years,
but it takes only a second to lose, so never allow yourself to ever do anything that
would damage your integrity.”(forbes.com). Being a Christian in the professional
world should be more about living a Godly life because it is worth living, than living
because there are rules to follow.
Being a businessperson of integrity is one of the reasons I choose the major. I
desire to work in company or have a position where coworkers and clients can see
the difference by the way character and words speak. For actions speak louder than
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words, and in a society where the physical/exterior matters more, those actions
should be ones pointing to the Father.
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Sources:
Wild, J. J., Shaw, K. W., & Chiappetta, B. (2011). Fundamental Accounting Principles.
The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Fundamental Accounting Principles Volume 2; McGraw Hill Education; pg.901
Anderson, Amy R. "Success Will Come and Go, But Integrity Is Forever." Forbes.com.
N.p., 28 Nov. 2012. Web.
"OpenBible.info." OpenBible.info. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
