Philosophy Statement
Integrity in the business world, obedience to the laws of the land, and honesty and accountability in our private world are qualities that honor God and provide opportunities to point to Him. Many of the families in the Wesley community work directly or indirectly in business in Indonesia.  Many parents want their children to gain a basic understanding of accounting with a view to further tertiary education in the fields of management, finance, business, or law.

At various times in the Bible, God commanded people to count people and things, to measure inventories and record the findings.  Many Bible verses remind us to be accurate and orderly in our use of weights and measures (Lev 19:35-36 and Ezek 45:10-12, Deut 25:13-16, Proverbs 11 & 20).  God is concerned that people do not place too much confidence in numbers or size, stressing that our confidence and trust should be in God and not things (David’s unauthorized census (1 Chron 21 and 2 Sam 24). God also uses the concept of measurement to express man’s failures and His plans for them. The study of accounting can be used to reflect these cares and concerns that the Bible teaches are of importance to God. The Bible has a lot to say about debt and debtors, about shrewd businessmen and the honest collection of tax. Through this course, I hope we can raise up Christians who, having gained a basic grounding in Accounting, are shaped into citizens who are willing to take their place in the business world and work with integrity.

Course Objective
If students complete one semester only, they should gain a conceptual understanding of the basis of accounting principles (ESLR: ET, NLL) and a practical understanding of how to process financial information from first transaction to preparation and analysis of financial statements for a simple form of business with one owner (Sole Proprietor). (ESLR: ET, NLL, DC). If students complete a second semester, their previous knowledge and experience will be applied to Partnerships and Companies. Biblical wisdom around finances is integrated in classes and the compare and contrast assignments (ESLR: RUC).

Resources
Accounting: A Beginning, Part One & Part Two, by Lilian Viitakangas, New House Publishers, NZ, 1998
Internet sites

Time Allotment
Fifty minutes per day, five days per week for one semester. A second semester option is available for extended content, if there is enough student demand.

Course Content

  1. Within the context of Sole Proprietorships, students will:
  2.  Demonstrate an understanding of the conceptual basis of accounting
  3. Describe a method of processing financial information (computerized and manual systems) and analyze transactions – cash, credit and non cash, and Balance Day Adjustments.
  4. Process financial information from financial data to a Trial Balance
  5. Prepare Financial Statements, Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet
  6. Analyze and interpret information, about profitability, liquidity and stability

Evaluation
Topic tests
Pop quizzes to test homework
Completion of accounts for simulated businesses.
A Compare and Contrast activity each quarter where accounting concepts are evaluated alongside Bible passages and themes.