Cost Control
Definition
Cost control compares actual costs with a plan and makes deviations visible.
Cost control is part of cost management. It records actual costs, compares them with budgets, and supports the evaluation and forecasting of financial deviations.
Simply explained
Like regularly checking a household budget against the monthly plan. The numbers show deviations but do not alone decide on countermeasures.
Why it matters in practice
For cost control, cost types, budget reference, measurement time, and responsibilities should be clearly defined.
Example from business
Possible example: A team compares the monthly costs of an internal AI service with the approved budget.
Limits and pitfalls
- Cost control makes cost overruns visible. Whether and how to react is a separate management decision.
Origin & history
The Association for Project Management describes cost control as recording actual costs and comparing them with project budgets.
Use in mid-sized companies
- Possible fields of application are project budgets, cloud expenses, and ongoing AI services with clearly assigned cost centers.
Frequently asked questions
Which values does cost control compare?
Actual costs are compared with project budgets.
What is the purpose of the recording?
According to APM, it can support cost minimization and make areas with overruns visible.
Sources
- What is project cost planning and control? · Association for Project Management (o. J.): What is project cost planning and control?
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