ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a broad overview of the need for cost control, together with a brief introduction to an approach that has been widely used in a diverse range of problems and subject areas, including cost control. It includes standards of cost measurement, analysis of cost performance, and specific measures of cost control. Most discussions on cost control start with a measure that provides the basis that an organization can use to compare the actual costs of its operation against those planned or targeted, called standard costing. A variety of factors may contribute to the deviations that take place, but before taking specific measures to correct the problem it is important to analyze the extent of deviation from the standard or target cost, and calculate the costs associated with it. For the purpose of cost control, the management, in particular the project manager needs to pay careful attention to the categories showing substantial deviations from the budgeted cost.
