The view that `corporate social responsibility consists of making as much money for their shareholders as possible' (Friedman 1962: 133) is no longer valid. The view that the purpose of business is to enrich society as a whole, not only management and shareholders, is gaining in credibility (Solomon 1992). Today, at the dawn of the 21st century, corporations are again being challenged to fulfil their citizenship duties. AT THE EMERGENCE OF THE 20TH CENTURY, corporations were pushing for citizenship rights (Waddell in Altman and Vivader-Cohen 2000: 6). The current state of play is highlighted, areas in need of reform are identified and some examples of good practice are provided for other banks to follow. Accounting criteria applied to evaluate the quality of banking reports include relevance, freedom from bias and understandability.įindings suggest that banks are beginning to recognise that they have a responsibility to a broader group of stakeholders than shareholders alone, but, with a few notable exceptions, there is little evidence to suggest they have gone beyond the rhetoric stage. The question posed in this paper is not whether banks can be considered good corporate citizens per se, but rather whether they report their citizenship behaviour in an open and honest way. A banking sector characterised by good corporate citizens, behaving in a socially responsible manner, will benefit all Australians. Banks represent an important industry in Australia owing to their size and overall impact on the economy.

Csr2 fortune favors the brave