Managerial accounting is not just a technical subject but also a conglomerate of ideologies some of which borrow heavily from the Bible. The connection of Biblical concepts to accounting may be linked to Luca Pacioli, the father of accounting, who was both a theologian and a mathematician (Buys and Cronjé, 2013).

The basis of managerial accounting is having an inventory of records and information that a company can rely on to achieve its goals. Ecclesiasticus 14:7 supports and inventory system as it states, “Whatever stores you issue do it by number and weight, spending and taking put everything in writing”

Budgeting as an aspect of managerial accounting has certain influences from the Bible. The importance of budgeting as part of managerial accounting borrows from Luke 14:28 which states, ”Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?” Planning in managerial accounting requires a participatory approach which is reflected in Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed”.

Managerial accounting deals with advising a company on the rationale for product decisions for profitability of the company (Hagerman, 2018). In Bible offers this rational in Ecclesiasticus 7:22-23 which states, “Have you cattle? Look after them, if they are making you a profit, keep them.”

Even though the Bible may not contain intricacies of managerial accounting like the use of contribution margins, a large part of the substance of the practice is informed by the Bible. It is interesting that the concepts from the Bible are still relevant to modern managerial accounting practices(Hagerman, 2018).

References

Cronjé, P. B. (2013). A Reflection on Historical Biblical Principles in Support of Ethical Stewardship. Studia UBB. Philosophia. 58(3), 229-240.

Hagerman, R. L. (2018). Accounting in the Bible. Retrieved September 19, 2020, from Accounting Information: http://www.accountingin.com/accounting-historians-journal/volume-7-number-2/accounting-in-the-bible/

Jones, A. (1975). The New Testament of the Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.