In your story about the Volkswagen scandal ("VW Australia paid $12.3m to German parent", AFR,   September 29), the Australian Automobile Association suggested it was time for the government to review its regulations to ensure a similar situation does not occur in Australia. 
While the government certainly has a role in combating corruption, this incident should serve as a wake-up call for Australian directors to assess and review their own systems and processes, ensuring that corrupt behaviour is anathema to their company culture and met with zero tolerance.
While the CEO has resigned, claiming he "had no knowledge of the manipulation of emissions data", this omission begs the question, why did such a high-risk decision not filter up to top management and board level?
All boards should be asking this question, and what would happen in their own business in a similar situation. Already, Australia and New Zealand are falling down Transparency International's corruption perception index, indicating creeping levels of corrupt behaviour locally.
Now is the time for the Australian business community to be proactive and start to implement much needed changes before corrupt behaviour destroys our global reputation and restricts our economic growth.
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand recently launched a paper called Are Australia and New Zealand Corrupt?, which called for corruption to be one of the top risks discussed by boards. As the Volkswagen crisis clearly demonstrates, we need to take action on this before it's too late.
Lee White, CEO
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand