Rome and Empire 100BC-100AD - Lecture 2

Question 1

When and where was coinage first used?

Answer 1

.Area of Modern Turkey and Greece
.700-600BC

Question 2

Egyptians utilised money of account, what is this?

Answer 2

Measuring exchanges in terms of units of grain, gold or silver

Question 3

By 100BC, the Roman economy was highly monetized, what does this mean?

Answer 3

.Coinage the normal, but not the sole medium
.Agricultural produce used alongside coinage to pay for tax, rent, wages

Question 4

What evidence exists of Roman accounting?

Answer 4

.Archaeological evidence of an extensive industry and trade
.Inscriptions in stones
.References in literary works
.Limited documentary evidence

Question 5

What was the normal transcription medium at the time?

Answer 5

Wooden tablets often covered in wax or Ink and impressed with a stylus

Question 6

Roman accounting is often considered basic, why?

Answer 6

.Accounts often only consisting of lists of payments and receipts in date order
.Sufficient enough to facilitate the tax of a vast empire and extensive trade industry

Question 7

What is mercantile accounting?

Answer 7

.Ship owner and merchant could be one and the same
.Ships could be hired to third parties or owned in partnership
.Management of vessels could be entrusted to agents or managed directly
.Accounts kept at each step of the voyage

Question 8

What were some normative accounting practices associated with Landed estates?

Answer 8

.Estate stewards were slaves
.Stewards gave an account to the master of work of work carried out with emphasis on economy
.Comparing results with work the master had laid out previously

Question 9

The scale of the Roman empire created many public accounting problems such as?

Answer 9

.Taxing provinces
.Land and poll taxes
.Paying and provisioning the army
.Censuses

Question 10

Empire entailed the creation of what form of relationship?

Answer 10

.Agency relationships on a wider scale in relation to public administration, trade and private estates

Question 11

The Mongol Empire required accounting procedures to enable them to control their territories, how did they acquire such knowledge?

Answer 11

.Absorb the accounting techniques from the territory they conquered
.Turning defeated nations accounting technology on themselves

Question 12

Roman coinage value was based upon what form of content?

Answer 12

.Precious metal content within the coins
.Principally silver

Question 13

Roman bullion was critical for maintaining sufficient coinage, what factors affected the supply of bullion?

Answer 13

.Tax take
.Productivity of mines
.Trade with Persia resulted in an outflow of silver
.Conquest

Question 14

What accounting controls did Rome possess at the time?

Answer 14

.Organizational structure within the treasury
.Chain of command and specified lines of reporting
.Physical controls from inventories
.Control marks on coins to enable tracking
.Obsolete coins melted down

Question 15

Emperor Augustus died in 14AD leaving a summary of the condition of the empire, what was contained on this list?

Answer 15

.Number of troops in the army and navy
.Statistics on provinces
.Taxation
.Recurrent expenditure and gifts
.Cash in the treasury

Question 16

Augustus handing over accounting information as his dying wish highlights what?

Answer 16

Highlights the information’s significance to him

Question 17

Under Augustus, as Rome transferred from a republic to autocratic rule by emperor, how did accounts change meaning?

Answer 17

.Situation related
.Accounts were intended to assist Augustus in keeping power

Question 18

What was the role of the a rationibus?

Answer 18

.Forecasting public revenues and expenditure
.Decided how much coinage to issue
.Permanent government official with responsibility for economic planning

Question 19

How did Augustus blur the boundaries between the public and private in Roman society?

Answer 19

.Mutual rights and responsibilities of citizens
.Wealthy elites to give public service for which they were accountable
.Evident in the way generals funded their legions - Private wealth

Question 20

Why did the Emperor need to subsidise the state out of his own private funds?

Answer 20

.Roman state was in continual budget deficit
.No government borrowing
.Conformity with cultural expectations

Question 21

Is Rome evidence that accounting is in a perpetual state of transformation?

Answer 21

.A mixed picture
.Strong continuity of tripartite relationship
.Also evidence of the transformative potential accounting

Question 22

What role does culture play in Roman accounting?

Answer 22

.Influence of cultural norms
.Links to accounting definition of being control of economic resources as culturally defined

Question 23

Is Rome Non-value neutral?

Answer 23

.Use of Non-value neutral accounting
.Particularly in supporting power structures