With Mark Weil, Chief Executive Officer at TMF Group
This report looks at the complexity of operating businesses in countries around the world. TMF Group is proud to sponsor it.
As a leading provider of international administrative services, we help clients invest and operate around the world safely and efficiently. We deal every day with the rules required to operate in over 100 countries, from fiduciary and compliance requirements, to accounting, tax and payroll.
Since our 2018 report, the world of international business has become more challenging. Trade disputes, tariffs, rising nationalism and Brexit now point to a shift from globalisation to economic fragmentation. As a result, businesses in many cases have to localise their presence in order to establish themselves in markets they wish to do business in.
That’s why a good understanding of the rules that prevail – and how to manage them – are even more important. Firms will have to grapple with several ways of doing the same thing. Processes such as paying staff, filing accounts and registering a company all differ between jurisdictions – in some instances, procedures vary between regions within a single jurisdiction.
Unfortunately, some of the world’s most commercially attractive countries are the most complex from a ‘rules’ perspective. Failure to understand or comply with these processes and procedures carries a cost, ranging from business disruption and reputational damage to penalties including fines, imprisonment and business closure.
This report is designed to help. The Global Business Complexity Index ranks jurisdictions around the world in terms of how difficult they are to operate in. It highlights what to expect from different countries across a range of business requirements including legal, compliance, accounting, tax and employment rules.
Complexity is not a reason to avoid investing. It is a factor which must be managed. With the right local knowledge and preparation, good companies can thrive anywhere.
Mark Weil Chief Executive Officer TMF Group