The act of counting with is repeatedly mentioned in early texts' as an essential skill of the accountant. Its memory survives in terms and conventions but the once universal practice is almost entirely forgotten. Counting with casters was a form of visual (as distinct from mental) arithmetic which would not only serve for them that cannot read, but also for them that can do both but have not at some time their pen or tables ready with them. 2 It was surprisingly simple and could be practised by the untutored with a minimum of instruction,3 yet lent itself to the complex currency and exchange calculations of Mediaeval business.4 From its beginning the system was associated with the use of Roman numerals5 which are difficultto manipulate directly but can be made

Abstract The article explores the presence of accounting in the Zenon papyri of the Greeks. The manuscripts give evidence of a surprisingly elaborate accounting system which had been used in Greece since the fifth century B.C. All accounts were audited, as evidenced by a sloping downstroke or a heavy dot in front of each figure. The Zenon papyri include several monthly, annual, and even triennial summaries of accounting transactions. Their most remarkable feature is the high degree of accounting control and the business-like efficiency of central management.