Hawaii played host to what was broadly seen as a successful event last September: the World Conservation Congress presented by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Yet for all of the fanfare this event generated — from the runup to the Waikiki gathering of some 10,000 participants, to the projects underway as a result — state leaders are in the dark about one important element: expenditures.

State lawmakers allotted $8 million to support the conference, a sizable investment deserving some careful analysis. With the Legislature in session, now would be an opportune time to present it in full public view.

The issue was raised last week by state Rep. Ryan Yamane, who chairs the House Water and Land Committee. Yamane said he has been unable to get needed details on the spending, after learning that some of the money went to local environmental groups enlisted to help. Specifically, he said, he wants to see agreements spelling out how the payments of public funds to the groups was supposed to be used, as well as information on where the money went.

Yamane, who represents Mililani, Waipio and Waikele, added that “we have been asking for that information.” But the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the lead agency for the state as hosts, counters that DLNR was never asked for a complete accounting. Yamane “has suggested that he has questions,” said DLNR Director Suzanne Case, “but we have never had any request for information or known exactly what his questions are.”

Without getting lost in the weeds of who asked what of whom, suffice it to say that a full accounting is reasonable.

Case said the department will finalize the accounting this spring after some final invoices are processed. If officials are this close to sewing things up, DLNR should be in a position to offer at least a preliminary report during the current legislative session.

The money was provided to a private organization, the World Conservation Congress National Host Committee. Randall Tanaka, executive director of the committee, said information is being gathered on four more invoices.

Case praised the committee for budgeting carefully enough that $1.5 million was left over from the $8 million.

That’s an encouraging assurance, but Yamane is right that when private entities receive state appropriations, a public accounting of those funds is required.

That said, calls for an audit of DLNR are premature at this point. The suggestion for a state audit has support from some outside the state Capitol, including Carroll Cox, president of the nonprofit EnviroWatch.

An audit would be necessary if information provided by DLNR raises doubts about the spending, and so far there’s nothing to suggest that.

Yamane wrote a letter to fellow lawmakers proposing that an audit be requested. The notion gained support from House Speaker Joe Souki, but Senate President Ron Kouchi decided against signing on, rightly observing that DLNR first should have the chance to answer questions at an informational briefing. That briefing wasn’t held before the Legislature convened, when most of these grilling sessions take place, but it still could happen. If DLNR has much of the information already in hand, as Case has said, it shouldn’t be hard for a presentation to be made to lawmakers in the coming weeks.

Cox called September’s conservation conference “a really high-powered party at the expense of the taxpayers of Hawaii.” That may be a dismissive assessment for an event that ultimately raised Hawaii’s profile in the global environmental discourse and added fuel to some local initiatives as well.

But if Hawaii leaders want to replicate this kind of event, it’s crucial to have a clear-eyed review of the state’s effort and use of taxpayer dollars — and how they could be improved.