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This article introduces Minna Canth, one of the earliest businesswomen in Finland, although better known as a pioneer of Finnish realistic literature and champion of the women's movement. The historical study method is applied together with a narrative and interpretative approach to examine accounting and gender based on Minna Canth's bookkeeping and correspondence in the 1880s. Minna Canth's story brings together three realities that normally do not meet: women's everyday life, business, and literature. The study introduces an early female merchant who was knowledgeable about financial issues and managed her own business affairs independently. An intended contribution of this study to accounting and gender research is to extend the current knowledge about women's roles in the nineteenth century and their use of accounting at that time in history.

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This article deals with the historical development of financial accounting in Finland from 1862 to 2005. The period starts with the publication of the first Finnish accounting textbook by August Lilius in 1862. The year 2005 marks another milestone: this was when all listed companies were obligated to prepare consolidated accounts according to IAS/ IFRS standards. The study applies a discourse analysis approach and presents Finnish financial accounting history under five discourses or themes, namely: entrepreneurship, academic, governance control, professional and financial market themes. Some of these have assumed more dominance over time while others have lost much of their former significance.

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