From Local Accounting to Global Standards: How Mentorship Helped ATABAI Build an AI Platform for IFRS Reporting

ATABAI is an AI-powered financial reporting infrastructure startup based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Its mission is to make global-standard financial reporting accessible to businesses by automating the transformation of local accounting standards into IFRS-compliant financial statements.

For Azizbek Saidov, Co-founder and CEO of ATABAI, building such a solution required not only technical and financial expertise, but also practical mentorship. During one of the orientation sessions, Azizbek first learned about Micromentor — the world’s largest free online business mentoring platform, introduced in Uzbekistan by the EBRD. Recognizing the platform as an opportunity to connect with experienced mentors and receive practical business guidance, he began using Micromentor to further strengthen ATABAI’s growth strategy. This support helped him refine the startup’s positioning, improve its business model, and become more prepared for investor conversations at an important stage of development.

Today, thousands of companies across emerging markets face a major reporting challenge: local accounting systems are often incompatible with IFRS, the global language of finance. Preparing IFRS reports still requires manual Excel work, expensive consultants, and a limited pool of specialists. This process can take weeks or even months, creating high costs and limiting companies’ access to foreign investment, bank financing, audits, and international markets. With Uzbekistan expanding mandatory IFRS adoption to more companies from 2026, demand for scalable compliance solutions is increasing rapidly.

ATABAI addresses this problem through two AI-powered modules. The first is a Transformation Engine that converts financial data from Uzbekistan’s National Accounting Standards into IFRS-compliant financial statements, including the Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Statement, and Cash Flow Statement. The second is an Explanation Assistant that provides clear explanations for every accounting adjustment, helping accountants understand and verify each transformation.

Unlike consulting firms or traditional accounting software, ATABAI is designed as financial infrastructure, not just a standalone tool. Its methodology is developed with experienced IFRS professionals and validated through interviews with banks, advisory firms, regulators, and financial institutions. This approach helps ATABAI standardize a process that has traditionally been manual, expensive, and inconsistent.

The company is led by Azizbek Saidov, Co-founder and CEO of ATABAI, a third-year Finance student at Westminster International University in Tashkent, who has obtained ACCA exemptions. He is also the co-founder of FinShark and currently interns at Big Sky Capital, gaining hands-on experience in venture capital and startup investing.

The team also includes Abdumalik Usmonov, CTO and Co-founder, currently a DevOps Engineer at Aloqabank and former Fullstack Developer at the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan. Financial expertise is led by Filipp Petrishchev, CFO, who has more than 10 years of experience in financial reporting, IFRS transformation, and audit, including previous roles at Alif Uzbekistan, Huawei Uzbekistan, and British American Tobacco.

Through mentorship received via Micromentor platform, ATABAI was able to:

• Clarify its value proposition by positioning the startup as AI-powered financial reporting infrastructure, not just accounting software.

• Strengthen market validation by conducting focused customer discovery with banks, accounting firms, advisory companies, regulators, and financial institutions.

• Improve investor readiness by making the business model, $70–75 million market opportunity, pilot strategy, and $350,000–400,000 pre-seed fundraising case clearer.

ATABAI has already gained early market validation. The startup was selected for the USolve Incubation Program as one of the Top 50 startups in Uzbekistan, accepted into the Founders Hub Residency, and conducted customer discovery interviews with banks, insurance companies, accounting firms, and regulators. The company is also in discussions with Blackstone Advisory for pilot projects and access to real-world financial data under NDA. Early investor conversations have taken place with Aloqa Ventures, Yoshlar Ventures, and Domino Ventures.

ATABAI’s initial market includes more than 30,000 companies in Uzbekistan, with expansion planned across the CIS and other emerging markets. The startup is currently raising a pre-seed round to complete product development, launch pilot programs, and establish itself as the financial reporting infrastructure layer for emerging markets.

For founders like Azizbek, mentorship can turn a complex idea into a clearer, more structured, and investor-ready business. If you are a young professional, entrepreneur, or startup founder in Uzbekistan, join Micromentor to connect with experienced mentors, receive practical guidance, and move your business forward with greater clarity and confidence.