502 Pages 80 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

522 Pages 80 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

502 Pages 80 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book draws on ancient Egyptian inscriptions in order to theorize the relationship between accounting and order. It focuses especially on the performative power of accounting in producing and sustaining order in society. It explores how accounting intervened in various domains of the ancient Egyptian world: the cosmos; life on earth (offerings to the gods; taxation; transportation;... Read more

Part 1: Egypt, Order and Scribes  1. Prologue  2. Ancient Egypt: A Brief History  Part 2: Accounting, Order, and Gods  3. Accounting and Order  4. Creation, Order and Divine Accounting  5. Pleasing the Gods: Order and Accounting for Offerings  Part 3: Providing For the State  6. Ordering the Taxation Cycle  7. Ordering Transportation: Accounting for the Fleet  8. Accounting and Redistribution: The Palace and Mortuary Cult  9. Accounting and Ordering the Activities of the Funerary Temples  10. Accounting for Mining Expeditions  11. Accounting and the Ordering of Work Organization  21. Accounting for the Bakeries  Part 4: Ordering the Private Domain  13. Ordering Private Estates and the Household  14. Ordering Lives: the Roles of Accounting and Money in Organizing Communities  Part 5: Epilogue  15. Epilogue.  Bibliography.  Index

Biography

Mahmoud Ezzamel, BCom., MCom., Ph.D., is Professor at Cardiff University, UK, and IE Business School, Spain. He has published widely in major international journals on various topics including the interface between accounting and social theory, accounting history, accounting regulation, and corporate governance. He has also published 11 books in the areas of management accounting, accounting regulation, and corporate governance.

'This book is a crowning achievement of 20 years of careful and thoughtful scholarship by Mahmoud Ezzamel. It is an amazing and substantive contribution to modern accounting thought. Who would have thought that a book on accounting and Ancient Egypt could be so engaging and relevant? It places history at the centre of attempts to understand contemporary debates about the power and role of accounting in society. Despite what the book argues, this is indeed a fundamental and original contribution to understanding religion, order, performativity and accounting.' – David J. Cooper, University of Alberta, Canada

'This is a very interesting work, the first of its kind that encompasses ancient Egyptian accounting practices. Mahmoud Ezzamel has provided details and explanations that are fresh and unexpected. The study also provides a modern perspective on the daily life of scribal bureaucrats and their methods of accounting. I wholeheartedly recommend this work for those interested in ancient economics, the bureaucratic superstructure of these societies and especially the careful methods of daily accounting practice.' – Anthony Spalinger,University of Auckland, New Zealand

'Despite, or possibly because of, the narrow focus on Ancient Egyptian accounting inscriptions and how they contribute to social order, this stimulating book will be essential reading in an accounting history doctoral seminar, and belongs on the bookshelf of every cultivated accounting researcher.' -- Sudipta Basu, Temple University, USA