Finance directors have warned the government against introducing legislation to encourage more socially responsible business practices.

Industry should be provided with tools and guidance to manage their corporate social responsibility initiatives, but without the government's interference, according to a roundtable series capturing the views of 60 senior finance managers in industry.

The ICAEW/Robert Half study, Corporate Responsibility and the Modern Business Leader, also found that corporate responsibility practices helped with staff retention and recruitment.

FDs were also demanding better measurement and reporting in order to identify best CSR practice, and demonstrating this to shareholders.

'Phil Sheridan, UK MD of Robert Half, said: 'Corporate responsibility and its impact on business today is very much at the forefront of corporate and government agendas. The role of the accounting and finance team in this agenda is becoming more significant, and indeed beneficial, as corporate responsibility becomes a part of day to day business life.'

Investments in environmentally friendly products and business technologies, create shareholder value, according to roundtable participants, and they thought there was a growing philanthropic mindset among business leaders, customers and suppliers. This was prompting organisations to adopt formal corporate social responsibility programmes, they said.

'As society increasingly recognises the need for a world that is sustainable, consumers and shareholders will, in my view, attach a premium to those groups with the best corporate responsibility records,' said Robin Fieth, ICAEW executive director for finance and operations at the ICAEW.

Further reading:

Download the report at Robert Half

Read Accountancy Age's Green Special