An Application of the Planned Value Control (PVC) Concept into the Cost Management System (CMS) Matrix

Performance measurement is an area of the management accounting information system. In this article, an application of the concept of Planned Value Control (PVC) as a mechanism for improving performance measurement continuously at a major steel producer in Australia, Slab and Plate Product Division (SPPD) of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP), is examined. An observation is that although the ability of the PVC concept can be enlarged to manage various facets of the business at SPPD, the predominant application has remained limited to costing system with exceptions. At SPPD, the concept is used to improve performance measurement in various business processes including variance analyses, budgeting, production control, management of overtime, absenteeism, maintenance labour, supply operations and key performance indicators (KPI).