North Macedonia

Konto Profit Dooel Skopje, North Macedonia

Economic Overview & Business Opportunities

North Macedonia is one of the European countries located in the Balkan Peninsular. Bordered to the north by Kosovo and Serbia, to the east by Bulgaria, to the south by Greece, and to the west by Albania, North Macedonia is a small, land-locked economy with a population of approximately 2.08 million people.

Though small, North Macedonia has an open market with a supportive business environment. North Macedonia’s economy is the world’s 33^rd freest in the 2019 Index with the economic freedom score of 71.1. North Macedonia is the member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2003 and a CEFTA member since 2006. Many investors prefer North Macedonia as the investment destination due to its stable macroeconomic policy, for example, the 4-hour company registration process, competitive tax regimes, free economic zones, improved regulatory framework and open trade regime. Since independence, North Macedonia ’s economy has progressed steadily with services and industry as the main drivers fueling economic growth. Meanwhile, the textile sector is the main source of foreign trade that contributes to more than half of the total exports of North Macedonia.

North Macedonia’s strategic location has its geostrategic significance especially to those investors who intend to expand their business and traipse into the regional market. Throughout history, North Macedonia served as the strategic crossroads connecting the Adriatic, the Bosporus and the Aegean, with the Danube. In terms of economic value, North Macedonia benefits from the strategic location at the crossroads of two main European transport corridors, Corridor VIII (east west) and Corridor X (north-south). As such, North Macedonia has served as the export hub for the transport and distribution of goods between Asia and Europe.

On top of its strategic location on the map, North Macedonia’s highly-liberalised foreign trade policy, as well as various bilateral agreements have given the country an edge in attracting foreign investors – local investors can have free access to the European Union (“EU”) and other markets. At the same time, North Macedonia has one of the lowest inflation rates in the region. The stable monetary environment and stable currency have also appealed to foreign investors.

North Macedonia’s low tax rate is another reason that attracts foreign investors- North Macedonia has one of the lowest corporate income tax rates in Europe. Besides, the Investment Zones in North Macedonia are offering up to 10 years tax holidays for corporate profits, employment income, VAT, customs duties and others, attracting more foreign investors to do business in the country .

Here is the takeaway list of why investing in North Macedonia:

• Highly-trained and motivated human resources
• Easy access to EU market and its neighbouring markets
• Fast and straightforward company registration that could be done 4 hours
• Ten-year tax holiday from profit tax for entities carrying out their business activities in the investment zones
• Low corporate income tax

North Macedonia is rising as the new investment destination in Europe. If you are thinking of tapping the huge EU markets, North Macedonia could be one of your ideal investment destinations to start your business.

Konto Profit LLC is active on the North Macedonian market since 1994. From the very beginning we were resolved on offering a one stop solution for the business needs of our clients efficiently and effectively while retaining the utmost level of quality in our services.

We can offer different types of services:

• We are a licensed financial accounting company under the North Macedonian Law on Accounting Services (license number 710045);
• We can offer different tax related services: consultations, calculations and filing of tax reports;
• Payroll calculations;
• Incorporation of new companies / NPO’s;
• Registration of foreign investments;
• Development of business plans;
• Trade and labor law related services related to the Central Register of North Macedonia and the Employment Agency and
• Educational services (trainings and seminars related to applied accounting, advanced accounting, financial analysis, tax regulation, trade law, planning and control etc.).
• We are also licensed educators for licensed accountants (continual professional development for accountants).

At the moment our team is composed of 8 regular employees.

2 of our employees have a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Audit, 2 have an MBA, 3 have a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and 1 has a Degree in Law. At the moment our team is composed of:

• 5 licensed public accountants;
• 2 licensed accountants;
• 2 licensed expert court witnesses;
• 1 of our employees is also a licensed registration agent (responsible for registration of new companies at the Central Register of North Macedonia and trade and labor law related services);

The founder of the company is Mr. Angelko Grozdanov, with over 35 years of experience in the fields of finances, accounting and business law. At the moment Mr. Angelko Grozdanov is the Vice Chairman of the Accounting Chamber of North Macedonia at the North Macedonian Chambers of Commerce (MCC), and a member of the Board of Directors of the MCC.

Besides our employees we cooperate with a wide variety of professionals in related fields: lawyers, licensed evaluators, court experts, money laundering experts, financial advisors, bankers etc.

The Manager of the company is Mr. Blagoja Grozdanov. Mr. Blagoja Grozdanov holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Audit. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Institute of Accountants and Certified Accountants of the R. of North Macedonia.

Our aim is to contribute to the development of excellence in our profession on a national level, so that is why we concentrate part of our efforts on continually publishing relevant and up-to-date literature. Our publications include:

• „Testing the theories on capital structure optimization – focus on North Macedonia“, 2010, Author: Acc. Blagoja Grozdanov, CIP 658.14(497.7), ISBN 978-608-65698-2-2, COBISS.MK-ID 96218634;
• „Advanced accounting: practical training, 2nd Extended Ed.“, 2017, Author: Acc. Blagoja Grozdanov, CIP 657(035), ISBN 978-608-65698-7-7, COBISS.MK-ID 102414090;
• „Practical financial analysis manual“, 2015, Author: Acc. Blagoja Grozdanov, CIP 657.375:005.52(035), ISBN 978-608-65698-4-6, COBISS.MK-ID 100062218;
• „Applied accounting manual“, 6th Extended Ed., 2019, Co-Authors: Angelko Grozdanov and M.Acc. Blagoja Grozdanov, CIP 657.2(035), ISBN 978-608-65698-9-1, COBISS.MK-ID 109364746;