Accounting law has changed. What does it mean for your business?

The Accounting Law was amended. Parliament approved it on July 23, 2026. Law No. 87/2026, which brings some changes and additions to Law No. 25/2018 “On Accounting and Financial Statements.” The President promulgated it by Decree No. 470 of August 4, 2026, and the law takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette.

Most of the text deals with sustainability reporting and country-by-country tax reporting. These are requirements that in Albania affect a very small number of entities, perhaps two or three. However, within the same law there are three or four changes that also affect small companies, and it is precisely those that go unnoticed.

The purpose of this article is to give you the full picture, broken down by what really affects you. You'll also find which draft bill proposals didn't pass, since some of them were widely circulated as if they had been approved.

Read also: Financial statements for 2025. What is required from your business and by when.

What didn't make it into the draft bill

The draft law submitted for public consultation It proposed shortening the retention period for accounting documents from 10 years to 5 years. This proposal was not approved. Law No. 87/2026 does not touch article 8 at all Law No. 25/2018, Therefore, accounting documents are again kept for ten consecutive years after the close of the reporting period.

The clarification is of practical importance, because many businesses plan their physical archives and storage costs based on this period. The old rule remains in effect and nothing changes in how you keep your files.

A second clarification applies to the sustainability reporting thresholds. Some summaries provided them in euros. The law specifies them in lek, so the figures below are the official ones.

Three changes affecting every economic unit

These three changes have no threshold. They apply equally to a micro-business with three employees and to a company with billion-dollar revenues.

Declaration of Conformity

The law adds a new obligation to Article 23. The person responsible for preparing the financial statements prepares a compliance statement, which is published together with the annual financial statements.

The form and content of the statement will be approved by the minister responsible for finance, upon the proposal of the National Accounting Council. Thus, the document exists as a legal requirement, but the specific template is expected through a subordinate legislative act. Until then, there are no official forms to complete.

In practice, this means one more document in the annual closing file, signed by the person who prepares the statements. If you work with an external economist, it is his responsibility to prepare it.

Read more: External economist

More detailed explanatory notes

All economic units, beyond what accounting standards require, must now provide in the explanatory notes three groups of information.

First, the average number of employees during the reporting period. Second, advances and loans granted to members of the executive, management, and supervisory bodies, including interest rates, key terms, and amounts repaid or written off. Third, amounts due to be paid after more than five years, as well as obligations secured by guarantees provided by the unit itself.

A fourth requirement is also added. Each unit must provide information on the main revenue categories, broken down by type of economic activity. If your company simultaneously engages in trade and services, they are now separated in the notes.

The second point calls attention to the partner's draw and withdrawals from the company's account. These become disclosed information in the financial statements, not merely an internal accounting entry.

Inventory at least once per period.

Article 15 is rewritten and clearly specifies that the unit shall control the existence and valuation of its assets, liabilities, and equity at least once during the reporting period, through inventory counts and the relevant accounting records.

For businesses that conduct their year-end inventory regularly, this doesn't create any extra work. For those that have neglected it, the new wording makes it more difficult to defend themselves in the event of an audit.

New size thresholds from 2028

This is the change with the most tangible impact for our clients, because the unit category determines the accounting standard you apply, the level of detail in the statements, and inclusion in the circle of audited units.

Annex 1 is replaced in its entirety. The 2028 column already existed, but its figures are lowered and rounded. Specifically, for reporting periods beginning in 2028, the following thresholds apply.

Microenterprise: assets up to 45,000,000 lek, revenue up to 90,000,000 lek, up to 10 employees. Previously, column 2028 provided for 47,500,000 lek in assets and 95,000,000 lek in revenue.

Small unit: assets up to 500,000,000 lek, revenue up to 1,000,000,000 lek, up to 50 employees. Previously they were 540,000,000 lek and 1,080,000,000 lek.

Medium unit: active up to 2,500,000,000 lek, revenue up to 5,000,000,000 lek, up to 250 employees. Previously they were 2,700,000,000 lek and 5,400,000,000 lek.

Large units are those that exceed these limits. The same figures apply to small, medium, and large groups.

Until the end of 2027, the 2025–2027 column limits remain in effect, namely 35,000,000 lek active and 70,000,000 lek in revenue per micro-unit, and 350,000,000 active lek and 700,000,000 lek in revenue for the small unit.

Read also: Tax on profit.

Example. How does a company's category change?

Let's take a trading company with 40 employees. At the end of 2026, it has assets of 480,000,000 lek and revenues of 950,000,000 lek.

According to the boundaries in effect today, this company exceeds both small-unit thresholds, which are 350,000,000 lek and 700,000,000 lek. Therefore, it is classified as a medium-sized unit, with everything that entails in terms of reporting detail.

From the 2028 reporting period, the small unit thresholds become 500,000,000 lek in assets and 1,000,000,000 lek in revenue. With the same figures, the company meets two of the three criteria and qualifies as a small entity.

The transition from one category to another is not a formality. It changes the volume of explanatory notes, the activity progress report, and, depending on the case, even the requirement for a statutory audit. Therefore, it's worth calculating your position now, not in 2028.

Read also: How to register an LLC on e-Albania.

New terminology in your documents

The law changes some terms throughout the text. The change is linguistic, but you'll see it in every document, template, and instruction that follows.

The word “turnover,” used for income from economic activities, is replaced with “operating income.” The term “presentation currency” becomes “reporting currency.” The term “International Financial Reporting Standards” is replaced with “International Accounting Standards for Financial Reporting.”.

The law also adds eleven new definitions, including "related party," "related economic units," "investment economic unit," and "reporting date." These clarify cases that until now were handled by interpretation.

A new article, Article 12/1, specifies in detail when a company is required to prepare consolidated financial statements. The main criterion remains the ownership of a majority of voting rights, but now cases of control through dominant influence or the appointment of management bodies are also added.

Read more: Accounting services

Publication of financial statements

The deadline for submitting financial statements remains unchanged. It remains July 31 for the previous year, in accordance with current legislation.

What changes is the scope of entities that must publish. The law now provides that a category of micro-entities may be exempt from the obligation to publish financial statements. Which category specifically will be determined by a subordinate act of the minister responsible for finance, so the relief exists as a possibility, not yet as an enforceable rule.

A rule is also added for the publication of the abbreviated format. When standards permit an abbreviated format, the publication must clearly state that the format is abbreviated, indicate where the full statements have been filed, and provide the type of audit opinion, if any.

Read also: How is the profit distributed and how much tax is levied on the dividend?

For nonprofit organizations

Non-profit entities receive a real relief. Until now, they were required to publish the financial statements on their website if either assets or revenues exceeded 30,000,000 lek, meaning that only one of the two thresholds had to be met.

Now both indicators must exceed the threshold simultaneously, and this must occur for two consecutive years. As a result, many associations and foundations are thus exempt from the publication requirement.

Sustainability reporting and who it really affects

This is the longest part of the law and aligns Albanian legislation with the European Sustainability Reporting Directive. It applies to a very narrow range of entities.

The obligation arises only when an entity simultaneously exceeds two criteria: more than 1,000 employees on average during the financial year and over 45 billion lek operating revenue. In the Albanian economy, only a few entities surpass this threshold.

The report requests information on environmental impact, working conditions and human rights, governance, and the unit's plan toward climate neutrality. It is also subject to a assurance engagement by the statutory auditor.

Special thresholds apply to the Albanian subsidiary units of foreign groups. The publication requirement arises when the controlled unit has generated more than 20 billion lek in revenue and the foreign group exceeds 45 billion lek for two consecutive periods.

Read also: Finance & Accounting

If you are a supplier to a large unit

Herein lies the point that indirectly affects small businesses. Large entities must also report on their value chain—that is, their suppliers and partners. Therefore, data requirements trickle down to smaller companies.

The law provides for this risk and establishes a safeguard. A unit with up to 1,000 employees that is part of the value chain is called a protected unit. It has the right to refuse to provide information that goes beyond voluntary reporting standards, and any contractual provision requiring the opposite is not enforceable.

In other words, if a major client asks you to complete lengthy sustainability questionnaires, you have legal grounds to limit your response to voluntary standards.

Read also: When and how is VAT applied?

Report on Income Tax

The law adds a new chapter to the public report of income tax information, internationally known as country-by-country reporting.

The obligation applies to parent undertakings and to independent companies with revenues exceeding 75 billion lek for each of the last two consecutive reporting periods. The report is published free of charge, in Albanian and in an official language of the European Union, within 12 months of the reporting date.

This threshold is practically the same as that of the global minimum tax, so businesses affected by one rule should also read the other.

Read more: Global minimum tax in Albania. Who is affected and what changes in 2026?

The law also lowers the reporting threshold for payments made to state institutions from 13,500,000 lekë to 10,000,000 lekë. This report covers the extractive industry and, for the first time, also units that exploit primary forests.

When does the new accounting law take effect?

The law takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette. Therefore, changes without a specific deadline, such as the declaration of conformity, explanatory notes, and terminology, begin to apply as of the reporting periods following its entry into force.

Sustainability reporting, consolidated sustainability reporting, and the income tax report are mandatory for reporting periods beginning in 2028 and thereafter.

Today's non-financial reporting continues to apply to reporting periods through 2027 inclusive. From 2028, it is repealed and replaced by sustainability reporting. Entities that wish may also apply sustainability reporting on a voluntary basis, starting from 2028.

The new thresholds of Annex 1 They apply to reporting periods from 2028. Until then, the current limits apply.

Open for the moment

1. Calculate the total assets, revenues, and average number of employees for 2025 and compare them to the 2028 thresholds. That way, you'll know in advance if your category changes.
2. Verify whether you have loans or advances to the administrator and partners. These now fall under the explanatory notes and must be documented.
3. Ensure that the inventory is conducted and documented at least once a year, with a signed minutes.
4. If your organization engages in more than one type of activity, require that revenues be allocated by activity in the daily records, not at year-end.
5. If you are a supplier to a large group, save the defense text for the value chain units. You'll need it when the first questionnaires arrive.

Why it Matters

None of these changes carries a new fine in itself. The real cost shows up later, when the reports are filed without the required notes or when a company discovers on the eve of the deadline that it has moved into a different category.

The preliminary adjustment requires several hours of work. The subsequent adjustment requires redrafting the reports, and in some cases even an audit that was not budgeted for.

Frequently asked questions

Does the deadline for submitting financial statements change?

No. The deadline remains July 31 of the following year, both for filing with the QKB and for the accompanying documents. The new law does not affect this date.

How many years should accounting documents be kept?

Ten consecutive years after the end of the reporting period. The proposal to reduce the deadline to five years was not approved and is not part of Law No. 87/2026.

Is my microniche affected by any of these changes?

Yes, for three of them. The statement of conformity, additional explanatory notes, and inventory apply without a threshold. Sustainability reporting and the tax return do not apply to you.

When should I prepare the declaration of conformity?

It is published together with the annual financial statements. The official format is approved by ministerial order, so the specific template is expected to be released before the first closing in which it will be implemented.

Does the obligation for a statutory audit change?

Accounting law does not directly regulate auditing, but it defines the entity category. Since the 2028 thresholds are lowered, some companies that are currently medium-sized entities will become small entities, and this could change their audit status.

What should I do if a foreign client asks me for sustainability data?

If you have up to 1,000 employees, you are considered a protected unit and have the right to limit your response to voluntary standards. A contractual provision that requires more is not binding.

Should I change the accounting plan for the new terminology?

Not immediately. The change in terms does not require reconfiguring accounts, but it will appear in the new forms and templates that will be approved through secondary legislation.