Project “DIREKT” is implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021–2026 and is financed by European Union funds through the NextGenerationEU instrument.
Research team
Ivana Barišić, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. She has been actively engaged in academic research in the field of accounting since 2008, with a particular focus on internal auditing, internal controls, professional ethics, and accounting education.
She obtained the academic title of University Specialist in Business Economics (univ. spec. oec.) in the field of Financial Reporting, Auditing, and Analysis in 2009, after completing a specialist postgraduate thesis on the relationship between internal auditing and corporate risk management processes, for which she received an award from the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals. She earned her PhD in 2013 from the Faculty of Economics, University of Split, with a doctoral dissertation on the effectiveness of internal audit in enhancing corporate performance.
She is the author of more than 60 scientific and professional papers, many of which are indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, and a co-author of two editions of the university textbook Internal Auditing, as well as several professional manuals in the field of accounting. At the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, she participates in teaching at the professional undergraduate study programme, the professional specialist graduate study programme, as well as the integrated undergraduate and graduate university study programme. She teaches courses in accounting, internal control, and internal auditing, and serves as the course coordinator for an elective course focused on professional practice and the professional skills of accountants.
She has participated as a member of a research team in the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia project “Liberalisation of Croatia’s Capital Account in the Process of Accession to the European Union” (2008–2013), in the University of Zagreb short-term support project “Analysis of the Importance of Information Technology in Ensuring the Quality of Financial Reporting” (2018), as well as in several professional projects. She is an active member of the Internal Auditors Section of the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals and a lecturer within the continuing professional development programme for certified internal auditors. She is a certified internal auditor in the business sector and a member of the Editorial Board of the conference proceedings Internal Auditing and Control, organised by the Internal Auditors Section of the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals.
Lajoš Žager, PhD, is a Full Professor with tenure at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. His academic and research work focuses on accounting, financial reporting, financial statement analysis, auditing, internal auditing, and state audit.
At the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, he participates in teaching at the professional undergraduate study programme, the professional graduate study programme, the integrated undergraduate and graduate university study programme, university specialist study programmes, as well as the doctoral study programme.
He has more than 35 years of experience in academic teaching and research, as well as in participation in international and domestic projects. To date, he has published more than 600 works, either as a sole author or co-author, in the fields of accounting, financial reporting, financial statement analysis, auditing, internal auditing, and state audit. His publications include professional and scientific books, textbooks, manuals, dictionaries, lexicons, professional and scientific journal articles, research projects, and book reviews, among others. A significant number of his works are indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases.
He has participated in numerous scientific and professional conferences in Croatia and abroad and has served as a reviewer of approximately fifteen books as well as numerous scientific papers. He has undertaken professional development at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom. He is a member of several national and international professional associations, in which he performs various roles. Among other positions, he serves as Vice President of the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals and President of its Publishing Council, is a member of the Internal Auditors Section of the same Association, and a member of the Professional Council of the State Audit Office.
He has been a member of various working groups responsible for the development of legislative and professional regulations in the accounting and auditing professions, including alignment with European Union regulations.
He holds the professional qualifications of Certified Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Auditor.
Ivana Mamić Sačer, PhD, is a full tenured university professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb.
At the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, she participates in teaching at the professional undergraduate study programme, the professional graduate study programme, the integrated undergraduate and graduate university study programme, university specialist study programmes, as well as the doctoral study programme. She teaches Governmental Audit, International Accounting, Basics of Accounting, and Analysis of financial statements, etc.
She has co-authored the following books: Governmental Auditing, Auditing, Accounting information system, Analysis of Financial Statements, Bookkeeping, etc.
Ivana Mamić Sačer was a project manager on several university projects: “Excellence and Efficiency in Higher Education in the field of Economy–E4“funded by European Social Fund (the coordinator of project), “Construction of Croatian accounting terminology“ funded by the Croatian Science foundation, and others. In the period of 2024-2025 she was a member of the project FORCE – ‘’Forensic Accounting and Fraud in Contemporary Digital Environment.’’
She is also co-head of joint doctoral study ‘’Digital innovation management’’ organized by the Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb and the Faculty of organisation and informatics in Varaždin.
She is a certified internal auditor and the President of Internal Auditing Chapter at the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Experts. Ivana is a member of the Expert Council of the State audit office in Croatia. She is also a member of non-profit Association of accountants and financial experts in Zagreb.
Since 2024, she has been a member of the Scientific Field Committee responsible for conducting procedures for academic appointments and making final decisions on appointments in the field of economics.
Ana Novak is an Associate Professor of Accounting at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia. At the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, she participates in teaching accounting-related courses at the professional undergraduate study programme, the specialist graduate study programme, the integrated undergraduate and graduate study programme, as well at the university specialist postgraduate programme.
Her research interests focus on accounting, accounting information systems, financial reporting, the application of information technology in accounting, and accounting education. She has co-authored a number of scientific and professional publications in these fields. She was a member of the project “Construction of Croatian accounting terminology”, funded by the Croatian Science Foundation. She was a project manager of the short-term research project “Analysis of the Importance of Information Technology in Ensuring the Quality of Financial Reporting”, funded by the University of Zagreb.
She is a certified internal auditor in the field of business sector, and also participates in the delivery of the Professional Training Programme for Certified Internal Auditors organised by the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Experts. She is the head of the Professional Graduate Study Program in Accounting, Financial Reporting, and Auditing and the secretary of the University Specialist Study Program in Accounting and Taxes. She is a member of the Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals of Zagreb and of the Section of Internal Auditors within the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Experts.
Ivana Pavić, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. She teaches Basics of Accounting within the undergraduate professional study program, Accounting 1, International Accounting, and Public Sector Audit within the integrated undergraduate and graduate university study program.
She has participated in several scientific and professional projects, including the Croatian Science Foundation Project Building Croatian Accounting Terminology, the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports project Harmonization of Financial Reporting for Small and Medium-Sized Entities, and the University of Zagreb project Development and Application of the Case Method in Teaching International Accounting. She was also an active member of the European Social Fund–funded project Excellence and Efficiency in Higher Education in the Field of Economics (E4).
Ivana Pavić is a member of the Organizing Committee of the international scientific conference Odyssey, organized annually by the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. She also serves as a member of the Examination Committee for the professional examination for bankruptcy trustees at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia.
She has been a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) since 2010. She has been involved for several years in county committees responsible for the preparation and implementation of high school student competitions in accounting.
She is the co-author of domestic and international books in the field of accounting and international financial reporting, including: Application of IFRS – Case Studies, Harmonization and Standardization of Financial Reporting of Small and Medium Enterprises, Accounting 1 – Exercise Manual, Performance Audit in Public Enterprises, Financial and Accounting Aspects of School Operations, Transformation of Accounting Systems in Different Countries under the Influence of Convergent Processes, Audit – A Control Mechanism for Corporate Governance, State Audit: A Precondition for Accountability and Transparency in the Public Sector, and Analysis of Financial Statements – Essential Concepts and Applications.
Mateja Brozović, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. She is involved in teaching at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels in the fields of accounting, auditing, forensic auditing, and financial statement analysis, and participates in mentoring bachelor’s and master’s theses.
She actively participates in national and international scientific research and development projects, including projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (STRUNA), the European Social Fund (HKO), and several Erasmus+ projects focused on sustainability, digitalisation, and innovation in higher education (SUSTA, DIGI4Teach, FORCE).
She has co-authored a number of scientific and professional papers in the fields of accounting and auditing and has contributed to the preparation of university textbooks, manuals, and other publications. She has presented research findings at national and international scientific and professional conferences. She is a member of the Section of Internal Auditors and a Certified Internal Auditor in the field of business, and also participates in the delivery of the Professional Training Programme for Certified Internal Auditors organised by the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Experts.
Marina Ercegović, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. Her academic and research activities focus on financial accounting, the analysis of the effects of fair value application, and management accounting.
She has more than ten years of experience in academic teaching and research, as well as participation in international and domestic projects. She is the author of more than 30 scientific and professional publications, including journal articles, books, book chapters, manuals, and related works, some of which are indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases.
She has participated as a research associate in two University of Zagreb short-term support projects: “The Use of Accounting Information for Cash Management in Companies in the Republic of Croatia” (2017) and “Interdependence between the Application of the Fair Value Concept and the Tax Burden of Business Entities in the Real Sector in the Republic of Croatia” (2018). She also served as a research associate in the Erasmus+ strategic partnership project “DIGI4Teach (Challenges and Practices of Teaching Economic Disciplines in the Era of Digitalization).”
Petra Halar, PhD, is a Senior Research Assistant at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. Her academic and research activities focus on accounting, internal auditing, and internal control systems, with a particular emphasis on technology adoption, digital transformation, competencies, and talent management in internal auditing.
She has more than seven years of experience in academic teaching and research, as well as participation in international and domestic projects. In the aforementioned fields, in addition to her doctoral dissertation, she has authored and co-authored more than 45 scientific and professional publications, including journal articles, books, book chapters, and related works, and has actively participated in and presented research papers at numerous international and domestic scientific conferences. Of these, she has published 20 scientific papers, some of which are indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases.
During 2018 and 2019, she served as a research associate on the University of Zagreb short-term support research project entitled “The Current State and Perspectives of Fair Value Application in the Financial Reporting of Small Enterprises.” She is a member of the Organising Committee of the international scientific conference “FEB Zagreb International Odyssey Conference on Economics and Business.”
She holds the professional qualification of Certified Internal Auditor – Information Systems Specialist. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals Karlovac, as well as a member of the Internal Auditors Section of the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals.
Dominik Piršić was born on 26 June 1999 in Zagreb. After completing secondary education in economics, he enrolled at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, majoring in Accounting and Auditing. He graduated in September 2023, earning academic degree of Master of Economics. His master’s thesis, entitled “Financial and Non-Financial Reporting in the European Union and the Republic of Croatia”, was awarded by the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals.
During his studies, he gained professional experience in the audit department at Mazars. Upon graduation, he joined the consulting firm Deloitte d.o.o., where he worked as an accountant in the tax department. Since October 2024, he has been employed at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, as a teaching assistant at the Department of Accounting. He is currently involved in delivering seminar classes in the integrated undergraduate and graduate university programs (Accounting 1, Auditing, Financial Statement Analysis, Forensic Auditing), the undergraduate study program (Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis), and the graduate study program (Introduction to Auditing, Financial Reporting and Auditing, Forensic Accounting and Auditing). He is also enrolled in the postgraduate (doctoral) program Economics and Business Economics.