Two Balkan countries rank in the top five most complex jurisdictions for accounting and tax compliance, with Greece coming in fourth and Turkey being the most complex place in the world, according to TMF Group.

“Multiple layers of taxation and the rate of legislative change in some jurisdictions requires increased effort to meet compliance requirements,” TMF Global Leader of Service Lines Deborah Williams said in a press release. “And applied local knowledge, not just of legislation but also currency and language, can prove vital in meeting your accounting and tax reporting obligations.

TMF Global’s first Financial Complexity Index places Greece in the top position thanks to requirements that taxes be reported in Turkish language and currency. The group also cited Turkey’s large number of tax articles. Greece made the top five due to the complications of dividing tax into income, property and consumption categories.

“When operating in a diverse global market, knowing and understanding local requirements for financial compliance can prove the difference between cross-border business success or failure,” Williams said. “As more and more jurisdictions automate and digitize their information storage and reporting requirements, it’s important for organizations to increase their compliance, transparency and flexibility so they can be operationally efficient and reach their full business potential.”

TMF considered the rules surrounding taxes and accounting and the risks of noncompliance in determining its rankings.