Ideas about what constitutes corporate responsibility are changing quickly. It is clear that being considered a good corporate citizen is now about much more than philanthropy alone.

Businesses are increasingly challenged, and judged, on the way they run their operations, the strategic decisions they make and the wider impact they have on society. That may mean paying a living wage, certifying their products as Fairtrade or reducing their carbon footprint. Increasingly it means ensuring that they are seen to pay a fair level of tax, as recently acknowledged by Justin King, CEO of Sainsburys.

For those companies that are in a position to significantly influence the business practice of others (and potentially the regulatory framework within which businesses operate) this scrutiny becomes even more intense.

ActionAid’s recent campaign relating to Deloitte and Barclays highlights the impact these organizations, and the way they choose to conduct their business, may have in developing countries. Specifically we have highlighted the encouragement they provide to global businesses to set up holding companies in Mauritius to take advantage of advantageous double taxation treaties when investing into Africa. We have also criticized Barclays for proactively offering businesses in Africa the opportunity to move their money offshore.

We believe that financial and professional service providers play a key role in shifting wider business culture and practice. These companies are immensely influential. Deloitte, for example, is reported to be the largest professional services network in the world, while Barclays is now one of the biggest banks in Africa in terms of assets held. Small changes in the way such companies operate, in the type of services and advice they offer and how they market that offering, could make a substantial difference to wider business behavior and culture. It could also act as a lead for others and, ultimately, open political space for more effective regulation.

Many business insiders might consider what is discussed in these cases to be fairly standard business practice. But it is clear that the public perception of what is an acceptable approach to tax by large companies is changing rapidly, in Africa as much as in the UK. What would previously have been considered “plain vanilla” tax structuring, when revealed and explained, raises many questions in the public mind. And not just about the behavior of the corporate taxpayer involved, but also about the behavior of those companies which advise on and enable that behavior, and the actions of governments that created the opportunities and loopholes being exploited.

Written by Toby Quantrill/Read more at The Guardian