The Bible and accounting have numerous similarities when it comes to ethics. First, let us take a look at the definition of ethics; “ethics are the beliefs that distinguish right from wrong. They are accepted standards of good and bad behavior” (Wild, p.8). Therefore when comparing the two we are able to distinguish certain verses in the bible, with the code of ethics in accounting that are recognized in the accounting industry or any industry at that.
There are a few verses that I would like to start off with, just to give the reader an idea of the many scriptures that pertain not only to accounting ethics but general code of ethics for any form of business. “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another” (Leviticus 19:11, English Standard Version). By examining the scripture we can identify how this relates to accounting ethics. For instances, Leviticus 19:11 explains that that we are not to steal, and basically deceive those who have decided to do business with us, when we compare that to accounting ethics it would describe a person or the organization misleading the buyer into thinking they are getting a great deal on a particular product when really the person/organization is deceiving them to get more money out of buyer. Another example would be a worker inputting more hours than they really worked in order to get paid more. This hurts the company and possibly the workers position if it is found out that the worker knowingly did this.
The next verse that will be discussed will deal with the sex, diversity, religion of an individual that works for a company. “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21). This verse describes the tendency people have in taunting others at the workplace for the following reasons; they may be of a different race, have different views when it comes to religion, or be a woman in a male dominant