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What can be done to control and minimise the risk of corporate irresponsibility? This question has been raised anew in Australia with the collapse in May 2001 of the nation's second largest general insurer HIH leaving a A$4 billion (US$2 billion) shortfall. The official regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), claimed a lack of resources contributed to its neglect. The auditors claimed that they had been given incorrect information. The government suggested tightening the law and enforcing more rigorously its criminal sanctions. The problem, however, lies with the misconception that such fiascos can be avoided by governments creating and enforcing appropriate rules. This is simply not the case. For while legislation and regulatory mechanisms that seek to enforce organisational rules and policies are necessary, they are simply not sufficient to establish and entrench corporate accountability and responsibility. In this paper, the authors demonstrate how corporate entities can and should develop a 'culture' of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to reduce the risks associated with irresponsible practices. CSR principles and initiatives can be delivered and enticed by a broad range of facilitators, including governments, industries and regulatory bodies. They can also be used for the purpose of enhancing the broader notion of corporate governance. The authors illustrate the manner in which CSR initiatives can and should become fundamental tools of risk assessment and risk management in modern corporate and organisational practice.

This study aims to determine whether different perceptions based on a learner’s characteristics of age, gender, ethnicity, and duration of stay in Australia provide an explanation of teaching performance evaluations. Perceptions determine interpersonal behaviour (including communication and motivation)and the way a learner believes that they are going to be assessed by the teacher. Thereby, this will impact on a student’s formal evaluation of teaching performance through a student survey of teaching (SST). This study considers the existence of ethnic and gender bias in postgraduate students undertaking accounting‐related courses. The study applies a combination of quantitative online and offline surveys which include SST data and additional questions identifying demographic data to demonstrate that a learner’s evaluation of teaching performance is influenced by the learner’s perceptions. Whilst there were no significant findings related to gender, we identified that students from certain ethnic backgrounds and citizenship, had different perceptions of a teacher’s performance. In addition we identified age and duration of stay in Australia as two demographic elements which were also statistically significant.