Strumenti per la valutazione delle performance. Profili evolutivi dell?analisi degli scostamenti

Variance analysis is a tool of management control. It determines the differences between planned and actual performances, with the aim to identify weaknesses in production and sales policies and their main causes. Variances can be computed for costs and revenues and they are usually referred to: volumes, prices, mix and efficiencies. Starting from the well known model of variance analysis, as described by the literature on management control, this article adds some improvements to this topic concerning: the number of mix variances estimated, the determination of variances for working capital values and the reporting model used to collect and communicate the information obtained. This study was conducted adopting a deductive approach, which is widely applied by the literature on variance analysis.