Midway through a 12-month construction project, the sponsor asks the project manager for a financial health check. According to the most recent earned value report, the planned value (PV) at this point is $300 000, the earned value (EV) is $250 000, and the actual cost (AC) is $275 000. Company policy requires the team to flag any variance that exceeds ±$10 000. Before deciding whether to escalate the issue, the project manager calculates the cost variance (CV). What CV should be reported to the sponsor?
Cost Variance (CV) is calculated with the formula CV = EV - AC. Substituting the values given:
CV = $250 000 - $275 000 = -$25 000.
Because the result is negative, the project is $25 000 over budget-exceeding the ±$10 000 threshold-so the project manager should flag this overspend and prepare corrective actions. The other options represent common mistakes: a positive $25 000 reverses the formula, -$50 000 doubles the difference, and $0 assumes EV and AC are equal.
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