On July 2, 1962, the first Wal-Mart store opened in Arkansas, and over the next 50 years Wal-Mart became a retail giant. Holding the title of the world's largest employer, rivaled only by the US Department of Defense and the Chinese Military, Wal-Mart employs over 2.1 million people. Sam Walton's philosophy was low prices. Instead of offering good sales every now and then, Walton offered an “increasingly lower price” than competitors on things that ordinary people use every day. This philosophy continues to attract more than 140 million shoppers per week. This incredible amount of shoppers helped produce revenue of $443 billion for fiscal 2012 alone (Matthews, 2012). With more than 6,000 stores in 14 countries, Wal-Mart produces substantial revenue each year (Hesterly, 2010). With literally billions pouring into society, it is necessary to evaluate how the money is controlled and whether it is accounted for by the best contemporary management techniques in the market. While Wal-Mart thrives on the use of benchmarking and lean accounting, the Theory of Constraints combined with lean accounting could produce stunning results for Wal-Mart in terms of financial management. Lean accounting techniques are designed to provide a clear picture of a company's financial situation. performance after adapting the lean manufacturing process. Lean accounting techniques can organize cost systems by value, modifying financial reports to include nonfinancial information, and modifying inventory techniques. Lean manufacturing includes benchmarking as it focuses on customer values ​​and meeting customer needs while producing a profit for the company. Wal-Mart has embodied the five steps of lean accounting (thinking). These......middle of paper......and River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Maskell, B. (n.d.). What is lean accounting? Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.pcb.org.za/upload/files/what-is-lean-accounting-maskell.pdfMoore, R., & Scheinkopf, L. (1998, January 1). Theory of Constraints and Lean Manufacturing: Friends or Foes?. . Retrieved June 14, 2014, from http://www.tocca.com.au/uploaded/documents/lean%20and%20toc.pdfPreez, D., & Louw, L. (2004, January 1). A Roadmap Approach for Implementing Theory of Constraints in Manufacturing Organizations. . Retrieved June 29, 2014, from http://www.indutech.co.za/attachments/134_A%20Roadmap%20Approach%20For%20Implementing%20Theory%20of%20Constraints%20in%20Manufacturing%20Organisations.pdfProject Life Cycles. (2013, January 1). Project life cycles. Retrieved June 29, 2014, from http://www.successfulprojects.com/PMTopics/ProjectLifeCycles/tabid/113/Default.aspx