An Exploratory Study of environmental auditing in local authorities and public accountability of auditor general: the case of Sri Lanka

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept, need and requirements for environmental auditing, and how the use of environmental auditing activities being monitored by the Auditor General in Sri Lanka within the ambit of public accountability. Lack of proper audit mechanisms by the AG on a regular basis negates the accountability requirement and can lead to inefficiency. This thereby negates the major benefit claimed for environmental auditing. Design/methodology/approach - The paper adopts a case study normative approach based on accountability framework to analyse the concept of environmental auditing and its ramifications