Running head: GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATION 1
Faith Integration – Group Three
Business 530 – Managerial Finance
Claire Grimsley, Yvonne Hurt, Maria Lawrence-Jenkins, Stephanie
Jones, Deloris Mebane, and Adam Myers
Professor:
Dr. Charles Smith
Liberty University
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 2
Abstract
This group essay will provide a Christian vantage point to help the reader understand topics of
finance in a Biblical sense. Each topic will reflect greater understanding of God’s word in
today’s global market. The essay is designed to show the relevance of faith integration when
doing business in Corporate America. In scripture, the topic of finance is addressed and
suggestions suggets stewards practice proper morals and ethics in their dealings. The structural
design of finance in God’s word is to provide guidelines for the development of mankind.
Key Words: Finance, Corporation, Christian perspective, God’s will
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 3
Introduction
In an ever changing world, the Biblical perspective on finance is important to understand
to keep with God’s will. Faith integration manifests itself within the practice of leadership
through the understanding of God’s word in the Bible. The Bible outlines at least financial
principles that Christians should obey in order to please God. Financial prosperity is outlined in
II Timothy 3: 16 (NKJV), “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Stewardship can be
considered the most important aspect of a Christian’s faith.
Goals and Governance of the Corporation
Religion, particularly Christianity, is not a new element to goals and corporate
governance. A corporation is defined as “a business organized as a separate legal entity owned
by stockholders” [CITATION Bre11 \p 8 \l 1033 ]. Religion, particularly Christianity, is not a
new element to goals and corporate governance. It is imperative that any organization have a set
of goals and governance to be successful. Corporates must use these tools to maximize value for
the stakeholders. According to Inauen, Rost, Osterloh and Frey (2010), religious insight into the
economic perspective is “worth paying attention to such concepts as faith, spirituality and
religion in western organizations,” (p. 39).
As we study the Bible, there are several principles that apply to financegoals and
governance of the corporation are apparent.. When focused on obtaining a goal know that Tthe
main principle is to understand that God is the source of all things. Philippians 4:19 (NIV)
states, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” God
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 4
is omnipotent and omnipresent. Leaders in positions of influence and decision-making should
seek Godly counsel when the final outcome affects the masses. “Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly,” Psalm 1:1 (KJV). A Christian CFO’s mission should be to
keep the organization out of unnecessary debt and avoid bad investments. According to Proverbs
22:7 (NIV), “the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender”. A leader’s
solid understanding and application of these scriptures into a corporation will establish effective
goals and governance of the organization.
Accounting and Finance
Accounting and finances are an important and integral part of organizations. An
organization would not be able to sustain without knowing where they are financiallytheir
financial position. Organizations customarily utilize use accounting sheets such as balance
sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flow. Often, items such as taxes, cash flow,
book values, and market values are financial decisions that organizations must execute upon
[CITATION Bre12 \p 54-70 \l 1033 ]. Christians are often challenged with their faith when it is
integrated in organizations. Money cannot buy happiness, eternal life, nor have any real
meaning; yet many organizations worship finances; Satan’s delusion has allowed this to happen.
Luke 16:13 reminds organizations that, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve
God and mammon” (NKJV). God always leads in the right direction.
For organizations, scripture can be integrated in order to have faithful accounting and
finances. Scripture gives organizations sixteen parables of Jesus dealing with money,; over
2,000 verses on money, and one out of every ten verses in the New Testament deal with money
[ CITATION Fin15 \l 1033 ]. Accounting and finances are important to our faith. As Christians,
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 5
we can integrate our faith in organizations through being responsible stewards of accounting and
finances. All that we have is given from God and we are to invest for God’s glory and kingdom.
Proverbs 3:10 reminds one to, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with first fruits of all
your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new
wine” (NKJV).
Measuring Corporate Performance
Both private and publically held companies have a value, these values are found by
looking at the shareholders’ value or market value added. It might also be important to look at
ratio and returns such as: Market-to-book ratio, return on capital, return on assets, and return on
equity. Companies are also able to be valued through their management.
In a privately owned company it would be more difficult to value due to there not being
any public shareholders’. “There are three common methodologies used to value private
businesses”: income approach, market approach, and cost approach (Peterson, 2013, p. 64,
2013). Although these are all great ways to value a company it does not consider the ethics or
spiritual beliefs of the management or owners. God shows value in Matthew when he speaks of
not being able to compare yourself to physical items. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than
many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:31). One cannot put a value on someone else’s faith; however, but
it is possible to see a difference in the way that an organization is run, problems are handled, and
how managers treat their employees.
Project Analysis
Through careful planning and wise investment decisions, companies can flourish in many
different economic situations. The importance of careful project analysis cannot be overstated for
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 6
businesses looking to undertake new projects or expansions, allowing for accurate capital
budgeting. When thinking about careful project planning we can look to Luke 14:28-32 for how
we should proceed:
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the
cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and
are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person
began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war
against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten
thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not
able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for
terms of peace. (NIV)
Luke extols the wisdom of carefully planning undertakings before you proceed to ensure success.
Undertaking a project with the inability to finish it will result in loses in profits and productivity,
as well as making your businesses reputation suffer, much like verse twenty nine above. The
book, Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (2011), gives us many steps that must be taken to
properly conduct project analysis. This can be tied in what Luke describes, careful planning,
knowing the costs before we proceed, and ensuring the success of undertakings before we
proceed. Lee (2006) stated, “Capital budgeting may be the most important decision made by
corporations” (p 257). This is seen as well in verse twenty eight, budgeting is a critical ingredient
to success, careful analysis and planning are necessary for proper budgeting.
Risk, Return and Capital Budgeting
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 7
There are instances when people find themselves in a fixed where they do not see any
hope ahead. From the topic covered in the class reading, it is evident that the CFO is in a
struggling company that has adopted a new product that is likely to revolutionize the company’s
operation. However, the product may take more than two year before being sold into the public.
Some managers when confronted in such situation may opt to use unorthodox means in order to
ensure that the company continues to run. However, this will be an action against the business
ethics. Business ethics are formulateding based on God’s commandments. For instance, the
initial commandment requires that business should not focus mainly on profit making as the sole
objectives; they should also uphold integrity and honesty in the business operation. The ninth
commandment states that one should not covet,covet; this requires that business operators ensure
fair dealings with high level of honesty.
The business should continue operating and come up with other measures of raising
finance other than exploiting their consumers through unfair pricing (Thomas, 2012). The Bbible
states that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. The Bbible also states that “‘this is
my commandment that you love one another as I love you.’” This was the wordThese were the
words spoken by Jesus in the book of Job 15:12. The company should follow the command and
ensure that they maintain good customer relations through fair dealings; this will improve the
company’s chance of survival after the introduction of the new product. God is just in all His
doings and this principle must be reflected in business dealings. Justice in the bible Bible refers
to following God’s commandments to the laterletter.
Businessmen have the responsibility to manage and plan their activities and maintain
personal relationship within the business; as well as, consider the ethical aspect of the business
operation. Managers encounter some situations so that they can expand their scope of thinking.
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 8
For instance, in this case, the CFO must develop fair strategies of raising finance to sustain the
business until the new product is introduced in the market. In the book of (Mt 25), Jesus
denounces a lazy servant who buried His talent in the ground. One thing that may be evident in
this case is the servant did not want to risk and at the end failed to benefit. Business operations
are all about taking risk and hoping for the best possible outcome. Managers should be
innovative and come up with new measures of improving their performances rather than
dwelling ion the status quo (Lynn, Naughton, & VanderVeen, 2011).
Worries of the world may make people engage in sin. Jesus knew and this why He said in
the parable of the seed and the sower that there are some people who hear the word of GOD but
when troubles and tribulations come their way, they forget the word of God (Mt 13:21). Financial
inflow is the mainstream and the aim of any business organization, however, in cases of financial
constraints, business should not take chance to engage in wicked practices (Brealey, Myers &
Marcus, 2011). The CFO should be frank to the stakeholders, tell them the state of the company,
and explain to them the future prospect in the company (Cafferky, 2014). This will reduce the
chances of getting into trouble with the stakeholders an also ensure integrity to the business
operation. Recognition of the company’s weakness and working on them is very important rather
than assuming that everything is working as required. The CFO should focus on the long-term
solution that will benefit all the stakeholders of the company. Recognition of ones sins result to
forgiveness setting an individual free.
Working Capital Management
Managing short-term assets and short-term liabilities is vital to the efficiency and success
within organizations. Organizations would not be able to maintain growth and manage
profitability without effective working capital management (Krauer & Wohrmann, 2013). In the
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 9
market today, many companies make the mistake of raising their credit to exceed their total
assets, which in many cases has detrimental impacts. It is the responsibility of the leaders within
organizations to make decisions that mitigate risk to ensure that short-term liabilities do not
become greater than short-term assets. Several key components of working capital management
involve managing cash flows, managing accounts receivable and managing inventory (Brealey,
Myers, & Marcus, 2011).
The key components of working capital management can be applied to Christians in the
way business is managed. Ecclesiastes 11:4 states, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap”, which demonstrates that decisions have to be made in
order for action to occur. This can be applied through working capital management in that
difficult decisions must be made for companies to ensure their assets outweigh their liabilities.
Proverbs 11:14 states, “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many
advisors”, showing that it is critical to have leaders within an organization that guide
appropriately in the best interest of the customer and company.
Conclusion
The importance of careful planning is seen in many places in the Bible, the verses in
Luke stated above being just one example of that. As business majors, we need to plan our steps
carefully and honestly, always keeping the teachings in the Bible forefront in our minds. Always
remembering Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV) In order to
experience this we must be in Gods will for our lives, staying in prayer and His word.
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 10
References
Bible Gateway. (n.d.). biblegateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 100 versions and 50
languages. Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com
Brealey, R. A., Myers, S. C., & Marcus, A. J. (2011). Fundamentals of corporate finance (7th
ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Cafferky, M. E. (2014). The Ethical-Religious Framework for Shalom.
Financial Faithfulness. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2015, from Bible.org:
https://bible.org/article/financial-faithfulness
Inauen, E., Rost, K., Osterloh, M., & Frey, B. S. (2010). Back to the future–A monastic
perspective on corporate governance. management revue, 38-59.
Kim, D. (2006) Capital budgeting for new projects. Journal of Accounting and Economics 41 pp
257-270. Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0165410106000310/1-s2.0-
S0165410106000310-main.pdf?_tid=6d500098-e871-11e4-a79c-
00000aab0f26&acdnat=1429653639_bcccd864f3919e7690e664cf7e67ecb9
Krauer, T. & Wohrmann, A. (2013). Working capital management and firm profitability. Journal
of Management Control, 24(1). Retrieved from
http://link.springer.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/article/10.1007%2Fs00187-013-0173-3
GROUP THREE – FAITH INTEGRATIONFaith Integration 11
Lynn, M. L., Naughton, M. J., & VanderVeen, S. (2011). Connecting religion and work: Patterns
and influences of work-faith integration. Human relations, 64(5), 675-701.
Peterson, D., (2013). Three approaches to valuing a privately held company. Financial
Executive, 29(1), 64.
Thomas, D. (2012). Defining the Integration of Faith and Learning. Journal of the Institute for
Interdisciplinary Studies Journal of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, 14.
