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Accounting for the activities of funerary temples: the intertwining of the sacred and the profane

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  • Mahmoud Ezzamel

Abstract

This paper explores the role of accounting practices in the functioning of funerary temples (established to preserve the cult of important, dead individuals) from the Old Kingdom (2700–2181 BC), ancient Egypt. The paper identifies several roles played by accounting practices in this context, which involved the construction of various types of visibility: organisational, technical and dependency. Organisational visibility was manifest in the use of a combination of black and red ink in a grid, tabular format. Technical visibility involved the use of a noun- dominated limited vocabulary, various metrics of quantification and measurement, and a classification taxonomy. Dependency visibility clarified the linkages among various economic institutions and between them and the funerary temples as the latter drew on provisions supplied by the former. Accounting practices constructed funerary temples as both economic and spiritual institutions. There is also evidence to suggest that some abstract conceptualization of accounting was entertained by the ancient scribe who used accounting entries as a means of reconstructing activities into newly created realities. The paper concludes by arguing that accounting practices were part of an intertwined sacred/profane assemblage that did not recognize either dimension as discrete.

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  • Mahmoud Ezzamel, 2005. "Accounting for the activities of funerary temples: the intertwining of the sacred and the profane," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 29-51.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:35:y:2005:i:1:p:29-51
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2005.9729661
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    1. repec:pab:wpbsad:12.06 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Ezzamel, Mahmoud, 2009. "Order and accounting as a performative ritual: Evidence from ancient Egypt," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(3-4), pages 348-380, April.
    3. Toms, J.S., 2010. "Calculating profit: A historical perspective on the development of capitalism," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 205-221, February.
    4. Weetman, Pauline, 2006. "Discovering the ‘international’ in accounting and finance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 351-370.
    5. Jesus Damian Lopez Manjon & Juan Baños Sanchez-Matamoros, 2012. "Awareness To Accounting And Role Of Accounting At Religious Organisations. The Case Of Brotherhoods Of Seville At The Last Decade Of 16th Century," Working Papers 12.02, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Financial Economics and Accounting (former Department of Business Administration).
    6. Murphy, Tim & O’Connell, Vincent & Ó hÓgartaigh, Ciarán, 2013. "Discourses surrounding the evolution of the IASB/FASB Conceptual Framework: What they reveal about the “living law” of accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 72-91.
    7. Malcolm Anderson, 2006. "Accounting History Publications 2005," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 457-462.

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