What does a negative Cost Variance indicate?

Cost Variance, or CV, equals Earned Value minus Actual Cost. A negative CV means the project has spent more than the budgeted amount for the work completed, indicating the project is over budget. A positive CV means less was spent than budgeted, indicating the project is under budget. A CV of zero means the project is exactly on budget. For example, if EV is 40,000 dollars and AC is 45,000 dollars, CV is negative 5,000 dollars, meaning the project has overspent by 5,000 dollars for the work accomplished. ---