When cost review meetings felt like interrogations

Helping people and organisations make things happen.


            
                BJ
                
                    by Bilal Jamil
                
            
            
                Project Cost Management: The 3 Essentials Every PM Should Know
            
            
                Hey Friend 👋
                Early in my career, cost review meetings felt like interrogations. Spreadsheets everywhere, finance jargon flying around (variances, forecasts, accruals), and I'd nod along hoping no one would ask me a direct question.
                I thought I needed to become an accountant to understand project costs. I was wrong.
            
            
                Cost management isn't complicated. It's three things: estimating, budgeting, and cost control.
                Think of it like planning a road trip. First, you estimate what it'll cost: fuel, hotels, meals. Then you set a budget: how much you'll actually spend. Then on the road, you control costs: tracking what you're spending, adjusting when hotels cost more than expected, finding cheaper fuel stops.
                Projects work the same way:
                
                    Estimating: Figure out what something will cost before you start. Use past data, expert judgment, supplier quotes. Start rough, refine as you go.
                    Budgeting: Agree the financial plan you'll follow. This becomes your baseline, what everyone's signed off on.
                    Cost Control: Stay on course and adjust as things change. Track actual spend, forecast where you'll finish, spot variances early.
                
                The reality? Only 55% of projects finish within their original budget (PMI, 2024). Good cost management isn't about perfect spreadsheets. It's about understanding this cycle and keeping everyone informed.
                You don't need to be a financial expert. You need to connect the dots, ask the right questions, and work with your finance and commercial colleagues. They bring the technical expertise. You lead the conversation.
            
            
                Next time you're in a cost review: Reframe it. It's not an interrogation. It's collaboration. Lead with: "Here's what's changed, here's why, and here's what we're doing about it."
            
            
                What's your cost management horror story? Hit reply. I read them all and often feature reader insights in future newsletters.
            
            
                Want to go deeper? You can read more in the full deep-dive with examples on cost management, or try the Mindcast for hands-on practice making these calls in realistic PM scenarios.
            
            
                
                    Making things happen,

                    Bilal Jamil