Appointed to administer the Civil Endowments Authority in Egypt, Ahmad Shafiq was able to save it from bankruptcy. He laid down rules and rooted out cancerous corruption.

After the breakout of WWI in 1914, he accompanied deposed Khedive Abbas Helmi to Constantinople and stayed there until 1921 when he returned to Egypt to inaugurate a new era of reform.

Shafiq showed a great interest in reforming Al-Azhar and was instrumental in drafting Law No. 1 of 1908, which provided for the establishment of a 6-member board chaired by the Grand Imam which was responsible for developing budgets and supervising Al-Azhar institutes.

He published a number of books, among which were his memoirs.

He also wrote a chronicle of the period 1914 – 30 (hawliyyat misr al-siyasiya).

Other books include "L'esclavage au point de vue musulman (1891)" (Slavery in Islam) in French; and "Modern Egypt and Foreign Influence" among others.