This paper addresses the question of how financial accounting practice is constructed in a company during a social process with cultural, economic and institutional dimensions. The purpose of the paper is to provide an account of how the Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB constructed financial accounting practice associated with the decision to move the town of Kiruna in order to exploit mineral findings located below the town in its original location. The paper adopts an internal financial officer perspective and provides insights concerning the process from an introductory analysis in 2007 to the decision to build a new town in 2014. The deliberations include timeliness, asset/liability valuation, capitalization/expense and tax deductability during a process of interplay between local politicians, government, the accounting profession, tax authorities and international accounting standards. The results suggest that the process of constructing financial accounting practice is triggered by context, iterative, and characterized by trial-and-error during the search for solutions. In turn, the emerging financial accounting practice has implications for the design of the new town.