The Business Software Alliance - whose members include Apple, Adobe, Cisco Systems and Microsoft - has announced an initiative urging UK businesses to perform a software audit or "detox", hoping it will reveal any use of unlicenced software. It guarantees anonymity for any companies taking part, so long as there is no prosecution pending.

But the call has not gone down well with the Corporate IT Forum, a user group representing many large firms. "The BSA's continuing claims that large numbers of organisations are not compliant is untrue and offensive. Large corporates invest significant sums on audit systems as part of good corporate governance, and part of the problem is that vendor organisations often have inefficient systems for tracking licences themselves. They are looking to move the costs of tracking to customers," says David Roberts, chief executive of the forum.

The BSA is at pains to stress the benefits of auditing, claiming that firms are at risk because illegal software sometimes carry viruses, and is not supported. It says that 32% of UK firms are not licence-compliant, or do not know whether software has been copied or downloaded illegally.

Najeeb Kahn, a BSA committee member and also Adobe's licence compliance manager, says the real message is one of cultural change. "We want to encourage a culture where firms think it's wrong to have any illegal use of software, and where if anyone goes to a new job and sees illegal use, they would do something about it. People want to work with honest people: that's a competitive advantage." He also believes that many firms simply do not check to see that their licence agreements cover the total number of users.

But Roberts believes the BSA is aiming at the wrong target. "They are failing to take account of the impact of moves such as outsourcing, or that international businesses will be purchasing software from different countries around the world. The BSA and its sponsor vendors should focus their efforts where there is real criminal activity, such as people who copy products."

Steve Brazier, president of Canalys, a Reading-based IT consultancy, says the BSA's problem is more one of corporate denial. "It's rare that companies are unaware of the problem of illegal software. It's more that they are scared of uncovering a hornet's nest - they would simply rather not know." Brazier also believes that the overriding perception is that the main victim is Microsoft, and this doesn't help. "Most people don't have much sympathy for Microsoft and feel little in the way of a moral obligation to help them," he says.

Michael Chissick, a partner at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse, says firms have a hard time tracking software licencing. "Software licencing has got very complicated and it may be related to the site, the user, or the level of usage, so it's rarely a simple thing to track. I advise companies not to be alarmed by the BSA: there is no legal obligation to comply. It's just essential to make sure you have a good audit system in place."

But some believe the cure to piracy is to reduce the cost of software, a view most popular where piracy is greatest - in the Asian markets. Last year, a Malaysian minister called for a boycott of legitimate software in a bid to get the software industry to reduce prices.

Others suggest the software industry should get better at protecting its assets by including activation codes that are only available by phone or over the internet, as Microsoft did with Windows XP. The BSA admits that many vendors have not implemented them because they are concerned about consumer acceptance and viability of the technology.

But the BSA is undeterred by its critics, and has commissioned research which it says shows that reducing piracy creates jobs. The study, which examined activity in 57 countries, predicts that a 10-point reduction in the rate of piracy over four years could generate 1.5m jobs and £40bn in taxes worldwide.

The BSA initiative contrasts with a more hardline approach by the UK-based Federation Against Software Theft (Fast), which intends to use the power of search warrants and police raids where necessary to enforce software copyright.

Last year, 4,500 businesses took part in the BSA initiative, but it prefers not to reveal how much illegal software was identified. It will only say that the worst offending sectors were IT, construction, engineering, architecture and design industries.

Few disagree that vendors need to tackle software piracy, but there remains little agreement about how best to solve the problem.