The birth of accounting standards in egypt: from sovereign power To diffusion of power

Accounting researchers in the last three decades have come to realise the importance of viewing accounting in the wider context in which it operates. The aim of the paper is to challenge the change in economic conditions in Egypt as the sole driving force behind the shift from Uniform Accounting System to the introduction of Egyptian Accounting Standards. This study is adopting ideas derived from Michel Foucault in explaining the localized power forces and reveal the discourse that may have contributed to the application of accounting standards in the Egyptian environment. It is going to highlights how the mechanism of the change occurred in part of the changing relation between state and civil society. The accounting profession as expertise revive after they were deprived from their responsibilities. The professional bodies in Egypt are not mature enough as their counterparts in US and UK but we cannot compare them to their counterparts as it is a different context. We should compare their role during the introduction of both systems to get a better view of the change. Accounting as knowledge lost its direct link to the state during the introduction of Egyptian Accounting Standards.