Weir Group chairman Sir Robert Smith has warned that companies are not doing enough to safeguard their reputation in business dealings.

A chartered accountant, Smith also believes that professional qualifications fail to teach how technical competence ought to be applied for the benefit of society at large - rather than simply investors and regulators.

Smith made the observations at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland Aileen Beattie memorial lecture in London last night.

His talk, entitled Business and Society: a Sustainable Relationship, focused on the subject of corporate responsibility and the public interest.

He said: "Many corporations are broadening their definition of risk to encompass wider and longer-term risks that incorporate social and environmental issues. They are engaging with a wider external audience to understand needs and expectations and take action, where appropriate.

"However, a recent survey suggests that despite many companies understanding the reputational issues associated with sustainability, less than one-third of respondents are currently incorporating risks or opportunities associated with sustainability into their ... business strategies."

Smith praised Britain's 140,000 chartered accountants for ensuring the smooth introduction of a welter of new regulations, such as global accounting standards, at a time of "frantic corporate activity".

But he added: "Having said that, one of the defining characteristics of a profession is its ability to take technical know-how and identify how it can be applied to the benefit of society in general. There is little evidence that the professional curriculum fosters this kind of broader political/economic understanding."

Last night's event, at the Scotland Office in Whitehall, was held in honour of former ICAS technical director Aileen Beattie, who died in 2005 after a long battle with cancer.