--- title: "4 Entry Quotes By Charlie Munger" description: "4 Entry quotes by Charlie Munger. Plus more from Charlie Munger and more Entry sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/charlie-munger-458_absolutes_creative-accounting-is-an-absolute-curse_2224721.jpg" --- > [Creative accounting is an absolute curse to a civilization. One could argue that double-entry bookkeeping was one of history's great advances. Using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/creative-accounting-is-an-absolute-curse-to-a-civilization-one-could/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/charlie-munger-458_absolutes_creative-accounting-is-an-absolute-curse_2224721.jpg) > [I also want to raise the possibility that there are, in the very long term, "virtue effects" in economics- for instance that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-also-want-to-raise-the-possibility-that-there-are-in-the-very-long/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/charlie-munger-458_accounting_i-also-want-to-raise-the-possibility-tha_2993526.jpg) > [Economists get very uncomfortable when you talk about virtue and vice. It doesn't lend itself to a lot of columns with numbers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/economists-get-very-uncomfortable-when-you-talk-about-virtue-and-vice/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/charlie-munger-458_arguing_economists-get-very-uncomfortable-when-y_3048085.jpg) > [You have to know accounting. It's the language of practical business life. It was a very useful thing to deliver to civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/you-have-to-know-accounting-it-s-the-language-of-practical-business/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/charlie-munger-458_accountants_you-have-to-know-accounting-it-s-the-lan_3093259.jpg) ## Other authors on Entry ## More by Charlie Munger > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I think time and time again, in reality, psychological notions and economic notions interplay, and the man who doesn't understand both is a damned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-think-time-and-time-again-in-reality-psychological-notions-and/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-have-what-i-call-an-iron-prescription-that-helps-me-keep-sane-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The tax code gives you an enormous advantage if you can find some things you can just sit with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-tax-code-gives-you-an-enormous-advantage-if-you-can-find-some/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The great lesson in microeconomics is to discriminate between when technology is going to help you and when it's going to kill you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-great-lesson-in-microeconomics-is-to-discriminate-between-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Some years ago one oil company bought a fertilizer company, and every other major oil company practically ran out and bought a fertilizer company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/some-years-ago-one-oil-company-bought-a-fertilizer-company-and-every/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [ They \[Mc Donalds\] take people and give them a first job, which enables them to get a second job. They do a very good… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/they-mc-donalds-take-people-and-give-them-a-first-job-which-enables/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [What good is envy? It’s the one sin you can’t have any fun at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/what-good-is-envy-it-s-the-one-sin-you-can-t-have-any-fun-at/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We believe that almost all really good investment records will involve relatively little diversification. The basic idea that it was hard to find good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-believe-that-almost-all-really-good-investment-records-will/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [It is way less certain to be a wonderful business in the future. The threat is alternative mediums of information. Every newspaper is scrambling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-way-less-certain-to-be-a-wonderful-business-in-the-future-the/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We have to have a special insight, or we'll put it in the 'too tough' basket. All of you have to look for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-have-to-have-a-special-insight-or-we-ll-put-it-in-the-too-tough/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I've heard that one-half of the students at elite schools want to go into private equity or hedge funds. They want to keep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-ve-heard-that-one-half-of-the-students-at-elite-schools-want-to-go/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entry/charlie-munger/#itemlist", "name": "4 Entry Quotes By Charlie Munger", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Creative accounting is an absolute curse to a civilization. One could argue that double-entry bookkeeping was one of history's great advances. Using accounting for fraud and folly is a disgrace. In a democracy, it often takes a scandal to trigger reform. Enron was the most obvious example of a business culture gone wrong in a long, long time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charlie Munger" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/creative-accounting-is-an-absolute-curse-to-a-civilization-one-could/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/charlie-munger-458_absolutes_creative-accounting-is-an-absolute-curse_2224721.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/charlie-munger-458_absolutes_creative-accounting-is-an-absolute-curse_2224721.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/charlie-munger-458_absolutes_creative-accounting-is-an-absolute-curse_2224721.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Creative accounting is an absolute curse to a civilization. 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I suggest that when the financial scene starts reminding you of Sodomand Gomorrah, you should fear practical consequences even if you like to participate in what is going on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charlie Munger" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-also-want-to-raise-the-possibility-that-there-are-in-the-very-long/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/charlie-munger-458_accounting_i-also-want-to-raise-the-possibility-tha_2993526.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/charlie-munger-458_accounting_i-also-want-to-raise-the-possibility-tha_2993526.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/charlie-munger-458_accounting_i-also-want-to-raise-the-possibility-tha_2993526.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I also want to raise the possibility that there are, in the very long term, \"virtue effects\" in economics…” — Charlie Munger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Economists get very uncomfortable when you talk about virtue and vice. 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