Most of the SAIs around the world have recognised the importance of the environmental auditing and have started implementing them as a part of their regular work. In some countries the implementation of the environmental audits is mandatory, namely the national legislation defining the state auditing determines those audits as obligatory. In order to harmonise the methods of implementing the environmental audits and to exchange the experience in auditing this new area the Working Group on Environmental Auditing has been established within the INTOSAI. The INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing has developed a strategy for co-operation with the regional organizations of supreme audit institutions. Working Groups on Environmental Auditing operate within six regional organisations of the supreme audit institutions, i.e. AFROSAI (SAIs of African countries), ARABOSAI (SAIs of Arab countries), ASOSAI (SAIs of Asian countries), EUROSAI (SAIs of European countries), OLACEFS (SAIs of Latin-America and Caribbean countries), and ACAG/SPASAI (SAIs of South Pacific countries, Australia and New Zealand). The tasks of the working group are the development of the environmental auditing guidelines, launching initiatives to promote environmental auditing and the assistance in defining environmental auditing methodology.
It is of high importance to include the environmental audits in the working programmes of the SAIs, since they can in line with their mandate, by issuing recommendations and remedial measures, contribute to:
• the implementation of the adopted international responsibilities and conventions on the environment protection,
• the defining of the unambiguous and harmonised environmental legislation,
• the creation of the efficient and effective control mechanisms over the implementation of the national environmental legislation and environmental policy,
• the implementation of the national environmental programmes and to the allocation of public funds for the redressing the consequences of environmental problems,
the efficient and economic use of public funds for the implementation of the central-government and local environmental programmes and for reducing the damaging consequences.