Supreme Audit Institutions and Environmental-Economic Accounting systems

An “Inter-regional workshop on climate change: The contribution of Supreme Audit Institutions” was jointly organized by the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil, the General Comptroller of Chile, and UNDESA in Santiago (Chile) on 23-25 October 2023. The workshop brought together representatives from Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) from different regions and resource experts to share experiences about auditing climate change and environmental issues.

The focus of one session was on the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) and its importance in environmental auditing. During the session, representatives from the UN Statistics Division (UNSD), and from the governments of Brazil and Chile discussed the governance mechanisms necessary to implement an effective system of environmental accounts.

The discussion was moderated by Mr. Carlos Lustosa da Costa, Director of Environmental Auditing of the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil.  UNSD set the scene with a presentation of the SEEA framework focusing on the implementation strategy. Mr. Alvaro Shee, Head of Natural Capital and Green Growth of the Ministry of Environment of Chile, shared the country's journey in striving to form an institutional framework and clear objectives for the development of natural capital accounts. This endeavor commenced in 2016 with the inception of a comprehensive national plan and the initial development of pilot land cover accounts. After a hiatus, the process to implement natural capital accounts regained momentum toward the beginning of 2023 with the establishment of an interinstitutional natural capital committee, which functions as an advisory body on matters concerning the measurement, valuation and protection of natural capital in Chile.

SAIs can leverage environmental information and statistics to support environmental audits, including on climate change.  As beneficiaries from sound and up-to-date environmental economic information and indicators, auditors can also contribute to strengthening the SEEA by conducting performance audits of environmental account systems and making recommendations to government entities on how to enhance them. Currently, the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil is conducting an audit on SEEA in Brazil. The audit is examining the SEEA governance structure with a focus on the legal framework, the institutional coordination and communication among the responsible entities, and the availability and standardization of environmental information and statistics.