Master Budget Log
EVM Terms
Reviewed by forProject Technology - updated Sep 2026
Quick definition: The Master Budget Log is a document that tracks how a project's performance budgets have been distributed over its life, including changes to Control Accounts, Undistributed Budget, and Management Reserve.
The Master Budget Log serves as the running record of every budget change on a project — when budget moved into or out of a Control Account, and when Undistributed Budget or Management Reserve changed. It gives a single, traceable history of the full budget picture rather than relying on scattered change records.
Why it matters
Without a single, traceable log of every budget change, it becomes very difficult to reconstruct how a project's baseline evolved — which is exactly what an audit, surveillance review, or Integrated Baseline Review needs to verify.
Also known as
N/A
Used in
Baseline Change Control; program audits and surveillance reviews
See also
FAQ
Why keep a separate log if the budget changes are already in the EVM system?
The system shows the current state; the log shows how it got there. Auditors, surveillance reviews, and Integrated Baseline Reviews ask for the sequence and rationale of each movement, not just today's numbers.
Who typically uses the Master Budget Log?
Program management, EVM analysts, and auditors or reviewers reconciling a project's overall budget history.
Definition maintained by forProject Technology.
© 2026 forProject Technology, Inc.
© 2026 forProject Technology, Inc.
