Conversations around AI's impact on finance, the strategic benefits of building companies in Croatia, and the country's technical workforce took center stage recently when the nation's startup and tech community gathered at a conference. Participants ranged from finance executives to startup founders, all weighing in on challenges and opportunities facing Croatian technology ventures.
The discussions touched on several interconnected themes: what it means to launch a business in a smaller nation, the depth of engineering talent available locally, how artificial intelligence is transforming finance operations, and related topics shaping the sector's future.
AI and the Finance Workforce
During a panel titled "Will AI shrink the finance team or just change it?", speakers offered contrasting perspectives on technology's role in reshaping financial departments. Luka Mijatović, co-founder and CFO of Farseer, an AI-driven enterprise planning and analysis platform based in Croatia, cautioned that artificial intelligence makes it "incredibly easy" for finance teams to be "lazy" and the younger generation of finance executives will need "willpower" if they want to become senior.
Speaking at the Finance Weekend conference in Rovinj, Mijatović urged finance professionals—both current and future—to demonstrate "willpower" by mastering the fundamentals of their field rather than depending on AI, which requires only a single prompt away. Relying too heavily on automation, he suggested, could undermine their long-term career development.
Matija Kovačević, CFO of Hrvatski Telekom, the country's major telecommunications operator, offered a different angle, arguing that artificial intelligence will transform finance teams rather than eliminate them. He described how Hrvatski is rolling out AI across its finance function, reshaping operational approaches. One concrete example: the company is using AI to identify "ghost payments"—transactions recorded with errors such as incorrect reference numbers. Previously, human staff investigated these anomalies; AI now accomplishes the task with 90 per cent greater efficiency.
Bogdan Jelić, account manager at Comtrade System Integration, an IT solutions firm, disagreed with the notion that AI will reduce finance headcount. He argued that each business department, including finance, possesses specialized knowledge that artificial intelligence cannot fully replace. However, he acknowledged that AI can streamline certain finance department workflows.
Kovačević identified a fundamental shift in how finance departments will operate: the primary value proposition is moving from "production towards interpretation". Data collection itself will be transformed by AI, but the real work—analyzing and making sense of that data—will remain human-centered.
When asked about the financial impact on Hrvatski's bottom line, Kovačević noted that AI is currently driving up costs while the company experiments with new tools and processes. Over time, he predicted, properly implemented AI systems will generate revenue and offset these initial investments.
Mijatović shared that while AI represents a significant expense for Farseer at present, it is boosting output "massively" for the company's engineering teams.
Looking ahead to 2030, Kovačević envisioned finance teams becoming leaner and more analytically focused, with staff scrutinizing the data that AI produces. Despite these changes, he stressed that the strategic importance of finance departments will not diminish.
Finance Leadership and Organizational Influence
Léa Raiche-Marsden, VP of Finance at Leanspace, a software platform, delivered a keynote address titled "How to build influence across your exec team without losing your edge". She cautioned finance professionals against excessive passivity, noting that while such an approach might increase likability, it also suppresses critical judgment.
Raiche-Marsden emphasized the necessity for finance to serve as an impartial analytical voice within executive decision-making, especially on matters of strategic importance. She warned against a common pitfall: becoming overly comfortable within an organization and remaining silent as one advances. "That is dangerous. The quieter the objective voice gets, the louder everyone else gets," she said.
She recommended that finance team members cultivate relationships and alliances across different business functions to amplify their influence and impact.
Farseer's Growth and the Croatia Advantage
Matija Nakić, CEO and co-founder of Farseer, shared details of the company's recent $7.2m Series A funding round, led by Aymo Ventures and including participation from SQ Capital and US-based Apertu Capital. The company has now raised more than $8m in total and is directing the new capital toward expansion across Europe and the United States.
Farseer positions itself as the only "AI-native" enterprise planning platform, competing against established players including SAP, IBM, Microsoft Excel, and Anaplan, as well as newer entrants like Pigment. The platform already serves customers across 15 different countries throughout Europe. Nakić described the fundraising process as "pretty easy", noting that returning investors were eager to participate in subsequent rounds, and the company currently employs around 60 people.
When discussing the advantages of being headquartered in Croatia, Nakić highlighted the relative ease of acquiring enterprise clients in a compact, interconnected market. She explained: "We are one of the rare startups that immediately went into enterprise. It is a small market, so investors can recommend you and new customers can recommend you to their colleagues. We really managed to work with enterprise from day one. That is probably easier to achieve in a small, well-connected market than in a very big market."
She identified engineering talent as another significant advantage of the Croatian market, though she noted that the country lacks depth in sales and marketing expertise.
Looking forward, Farseer intends to launch a complimentary version of its platform designed for technical teams during the remainder of 2026.
Source: Tech.eu
