It says it on my cufflinks – ‘Trust me…. I’m an accountant’ and, of course, you can! But there are many big businesses out there that have got themselves into deep water socially, financially or politically, who are desperate to rebuild the trust they once commanded from the great British public.

Oxfam is the latest such case. Let’s not dwell on the well-publicised cause of their latest difficulties, but instead consider that they have to rebuild public trust. There are many charities doing excellent work in numerous different fields and surely they are all set to benefit because no-one will want to support Oxfam if that’s what they’re going to do with our money. Right? In the short term, yes, of course that’s right and so it should be. But it set me wondering just how easy or difficult the rebuilding of trust can be.

It was little more than two years ago that Volkswagen was found to have cheated emissions testing by fitting software which meant that completely false readings were generated when cars were tested. Deliberate and systematic manipulation of the system. After an initial downturn in sales, the company was reporting an increase in profits just over six months later. Does anyone think back to the scandal when considering which new car to buy? I doubt if it even comes into people’s thoughts for a split second.

Many cases of social change
Many of the things that were deemed to be acceptable years ago have been shown to be socially unacceptable in more modern times. Think back to drink driving, which for years was deemed to be part of a night out, but quickly, and thankfully, turned those who did so into social outcasts. The well-publicised goings on in the entertainment industry are another classic example of social change.

The same has been happening in the financial world, firstly with money-laundering and more recently with tax avoidance. You can’t open a bank account now without a degree in form-filling and knowing the inside-leg measurement of the person who gave you the money you are trying to put into the bank for safekeeping. Tax avoidance used to be the domain of the ‘lucky few’ who had sufficient to make it worthwhile, but that’s no longer the case. Successive Chancellors have cracked down on individuals who have ‘invested’ in schemes, particularly those offshore, that avoided them paying UK tax.

We all moan when big companies appear not to pay their ‘fair share’ of corporation tax in the UK. They are villified in the press for their actions. But which search engine do we go to in order to look anything up online? The one after which the activity is now known – ‘I’ll g***le it’. And where do we buy our coffee or do our online shopping? Yes, those household names who have structured their businesses such that they aren’t seen to be making meaningful contributions to the UK Treasury.

We’re an interesting bunch, the great British public, when it comes to trust in business.