Describing tax as ‘the price we pay for living in a civilised society’, May said the government would ‘come after’ those who ignored rules.

‘If you’re a tax-dodger, we’re coming after you. If you’re an accountant, a financial adviser or a middleman who helps people to avoid what they owe to society, we’re coming after you too.

‘An economy that works for everyone is one where everyone plays by the same rules. So whoever you are you – however rich or powerful – you have a duty to pay your tax. And we’re going to make sure you do,’ May said.

In addition, her speech  hit out at international companies that treat tax laws ‘as an optional extra’, and instances of ‘a director who takes out massive dividends while knowing that the company pension is about to go bust’, as well as ’bosses who ‘earn a fortune’ but fail to look after their staff,  saying ‘this can’t go on anymore.’

May said that ‘too many people in positions of power behave as though they have more in common with international elites than with the people down the road, the people they employ, the people they pass in the street.’

In particular, May singled out the ‘people who are supposed to hold big business accountable’, which she claimed were too often ‘drawn from the same, narrow social and professional circles as the executive team’, meaning the scrutiny they provide ‘is not good enough’.

‘A change has got to come. So later this year we will publish our plans to have not just consumers represented on company boards, but workers as well,’ May said.

The government has already announced it will be reviewing the legislation around workers’ rights, to ensure, in May’s words, ‘people are properly protected’.

Elizabeth Richards, ICAEW’s head of corporate governance said: ‘Theresa May is right to say people feel there is a deep divide between “the elites” and “the streets” – there is no doubt that the social contract between big business and society has reached breaking point.

‘We anticipate new legislation to achieve her objectives on delivering greater fairness for workers, but by itself new law can’t mend relationships or make up for past scandals.’

Richards said ICAEW has identified controversial operational areas which can make or break a business’s reputation and standing, which include social media, whistleblowing, employee directors, how to end excessive pay and how to score governance, and is urging business leaders to voluntarily focus their attention on making real and sustained changes in these areas.

Stephen Haddrill, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said the regulator shared May’s objective of wider stakeholder engagement by companies and are considering how corporate governance principles can best meet the demands of all stakeholders or be amended to do so.

‘We look forward to responding to the government’s consultation later this year and will propose measures to realign the interests of business and society.

‘Tackling important issues such as diversity in boardroom representation and executive pay is in the interests of society and business. In particular we need to look at how boards set pay, respond to votes at annual general meetings on remuneration and align pay and culture. We should also look wider at other issues including how directors are held to account in relation to their obligations to all stakeholders,’ he said.

Haddrill indicated the FRC could consult on changes to the corporate governance code if the government’s own consultation suggested an enhanced role for the voluntary code in the absence of legislation.