If savings identified during an audit are cost avoidance from pre-programming, which aspect of program costs may be claimed?

If savings identified during an audit are cost avoidance from pre-programming, which aspect of program costs may be claimed?

• A. Only initial capital costs
• B. Only post-implementation costs
• C. Only ongoing operating costs
• D. The entire life-cycle of program costs

Answer: (D)

The main idea is that cost avoidance found during pre-programming reduces costs across the program’s entire life cycle. When planning and analyzing a program before it starts, better decisions, more efficient designs, or alternative approaches can lower what the program will ultimately spend from start to finish. Because these savings are tied to the full span of the program—from initial capital outlays through post-implementation work and ongoing operations, maintenance, and eventual disposal—they’re reflected as reductions in the entire life-cycle cost. So, the savings aren’t confined to just the early capital needs, or to costs after implementation, or only to ongoing operations; they apply to the total life cycle of the program.

The main idea is that cost avoidance found during pre-programming reduces costs across the program’s entire life cycle. When planning and analyzing a program before it starts, better decisions, more efficient designs, or alternative approaches can lower what the program will ultimately spend from start to finish. Because these savings are tied to the full span of the program—from initial capital outlays through post-implementation work and ongoing operations, maintenance, and eventual disposal—they’re reflected as reductions in the entire life-cycle cost.

So, the savings aren’t confined to just the early capital needs, or to costs after implementation, or only to ongoing operations; they apply to the total life cycle of the program.