In financial and management accounting, the term 'control' refers to the cost savings that occur when actual spend is less than budgeted, which are critical because they directly improve the financial performance of a project, department or organisation; These favourable variances are typically identified through the budgeting process and can be attributed to a variety of factors, such as efficiency improvements, successful cost reduction measures or unforeseen favourable conditions; and by analysing these control variances, organisations can gain valuable insights into their management practices, identify areas of cost savings and uncover opportunities to realise even greater savings in future budgets, ultimately improving their financial management and decision making.