Ireland tops rankings as least complex place to do business, survey finds

Ireland is the least complex country for multinational companies to stay compliant with corporate regulations, a new study has claimed.

It is the third year that the country has been named among the top three in the list of the least complex places to do business with regards to regulatory and compliance regimes, outperforming the US and UK.

The survey, which was carried out by business services group TMF Group, compared 95 countries according to regulatory and compliance regimes.

The ranking comes following the introduction of the the new Companies Act last year, which was aimed at reducing the red tape associated with doing business.

Among the considerations that contributed to the ranking were a stable political environment, a highly educated workforce, a strong legal and common law framework, and Ireland’s position as the only English-speaking member of the euro zone.

TMF Group's managing director Ronan Reilly said the survey was "positive news and very well-deserved".

“The government and institutions such as the IDA have worked tirelessly to make this country an even more attractive destination to invest and do business in, and over the last few years we have seen a growing number of multinationals setting up in Ireland,” he said. “The new Companies Act has been transformational and put clear blue water between Ireland and other competing jurisdictions.”

IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan said there was a compelling case for investing and doing business in Ireland.

The top three was rounded out by the British Virgin Islands and Latvia. At the other end of the table is Argentina, which is considered the most complex compliance and regulatory regime, followed by Indonesia and Colombia.