Romanian businesses are more confident in the local business environment for the forthcoming year, according to our recent survey

Romanian businesses believe the introduction of the euro would have an overwhelmingly positive impact on local business according to a survey conducted by TMF Group Romania, with only competitiveness and operational costs receiving a more muted response.

The new confidence in the business environment was also seen in the companies' expected growth for 2015 which showed that a majority of the respondents (58%) are expecting moderate to high growth of 0 to 5% and 5 to 10%. It was also found that those who expect a higher percentage of growth are more than 20% more likely to expand internationally.

As well as the positive perception of the introduction of the euro and their new confidence in the business environment, our survey also found that Romanian businesses have a neutral perception of the local business environment, viewing tax level and collaboration with authorities negatively. It is therefore unsurprising that one of the biggest challenges of doing business in Romania is the complex accounting and tax regulations. Many companies are solving this by hiring more accounting and tax staff or by outsourcing the services to local experts. 

"TMF Group has now been operating in Romania for 15 years and we have seen a great change in the accounting and tax regulations," says Camelia Nita, Managing Director of TMF Group Romania.

"However, businesses expanding to Romania are still most concerned about the legislation changes and complex regulations. Companies need specialists that know the local requirements and can help to simplify operations. We take away the burden of reporting and compliance, so companies can focus on growing their business."

How the survey worked

TMF Group Romania sent a survey to clients and contacts. Asking questions about specifics of doing business in Romania, it was conducted from 2 to 26 September 2014.

We received responses from specialists representing industries such as oil (26%), retail (20%) and financial services (16%). A total of 30% of our respondent's headquarters are located in Romania itself.

A two-page briefing and accompanying infographic have been produced to showcase the results in both English and Romanian. These were used in a press meeting presented by the MDs of Romania on 6 November 6th in partnership with their external PR Company (GMP PR) to local journalists and press. So far this has resulted in 33 external publications related to our results, including an article in Forbes Romania.

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