01
Cost is fragmented
Provider usage, licences, integration, human review, rework and incident costs can sit in different systems and ownership structures.
Governed AI value realisation
Know what your AI is costing. Prove what it is returning.
Value Control connects evidence from AI platforms, enterprise workflows, governance controls and finance systems so each initiative can progress from forecast value to observed outcomes, approved attribution, finance validation and risk-adjusted portfolio action.
Recognition boundary: forecasts, simulations and operational estimates are not presented as realised return on investment. Finance and accountable business validation remain required.
The value gap
Deployment activity is not the same as realised value.
Licences, models and agents can enter production before an organisation has agreed the baseline, loaded the full cost, assigned a Benefit Owner or approved how an observed change will be attributed. Value Control keeps those distinctions visible.
02
Outcomes need a baseline
An operational measure can move after deployment without establishing what changed, why it changed or whether the comparison basis remained valid.
03
Recognition needs accountable people
Software can assemble evidence and calculations. Business and finance owners still determine whether the benefit is attributable, recognised and decision-relevant.
Progressive value states
Value advances through evidence and approval gates.
A calculation does not become a recognised benefit merely because more data is available. Each state requires a defined evidence basis and an accountable decision.
STATE 01
Forecast
A planned benefit based on stated assumptions, target measures and expected dependencies.
Gate: business case and assumption owner recorded.
STATE 02
Observed
A measurable operational change has occurred against an approved baseline.
Gate: source evidence and comparison period confirmed.
STATE 03
Attributed
An approved method links an appropriate share of the observed change to the AI initiative.
Gate: dependencies and alternative causes reviewed.
STATE 04
Finance validated
Finance reviews the benefit definition, cost treatment, calculation and recognition basis.
Gate: authorised finance decision recorded.
STATE 05
Risk adjusted
Approved correction cost, uncertainty and governance risk are applied for portfolio review.
Gate: accountable action and review date recorded.
Value Control preserves the current state, evidence lineage and approval record. It does not advance an initiative through these stages without the organisation's authorised review process.
Evidence and cost architecture
Connect the records needed for a defensible value review.
Coverage depends on the sources the customer authorises, the quality of those records and the mapping agreed during implementation. Missing or unmatched evidence remains visible rather than being guessed.
AI and platform costUsage, licences, reservations and approved allocation data.
Workflow operationsVolume, cycle time, quality, rework and service measures.
Governance evidencePolicy decisions, exceptions, incidents, identity and human review.
Finance evidenceApproved baseline, cost treatment, attribution method and validation record.
Value Control working record
One reviewable basis for portfolio action
Baseline and target measure
Fully loaded cost
Observed outcome evidence
Attribution and dependencies
Finance validation status
Risk and correction adjustments
Scale / Optimise / Review / Retire
Decision owner and review date
Real product interfaces
Cost granularity and accountable identities already sit inside Songlines Control.
These genuine product captures demonstrate two inputs to the Value Control method. They are not customer results and do not independently show finance validation or realised ROI.
Calculation boundaries
Make the basis visible before discussing return.
Each organisation defines its accounting policy, benefit category, attribution approach, materiality threshold and risk treatment. Value Control supports the working record and approval flow.
Cost basisFully loaded cost
Customer-approved usage, licences, implementation, integration, change, review, rework, incident and correction costs within the selected scope.
Outcome basisValidated benefit
An observed measure compared with an approved baseline, adjusted through an agreed attribution method and reviewed by the accountable business and finance owners.
Decision basisRisk-adjusted value
Finance-validated benefit less fully loaded cost and the organisation's approved risk or correction adjustments. The treatment remains organisation-specific.
Important: Value Control is a management-governance capability. It does not provide accounting, audit, legal, investment or assurance advice, and it does not replace the organisation's authorised finance, risk or governance decisions.
Decision rights
One evidence record. Distinct accountabilities.
Value recognition is cross-functional. The system helps each role work from the same defined scope without collapsing their responsibilities into one automated score.
Delivery
Supplies solution configuration, usage, performance and technical dependency records.
Business
Owns the baseline, intended outcome, process change and operational benefit.
Finance
Reviews cost treatment, attribution, benefit recognition and calculation basis.
Governance
Records risk, exceptions, oversight evidence and the accountable portfolio decision.
Calculated recommendations remain distinct from decisions recorded by authorised people.
Works with existing FinOps and finance practices
Bring approved cost data. Keep provider ownership where it belongs.
Value Control can work with customer-approved exports or scoped mappings from finance systems, cloud platforms and FinOps tools. Examples may include Apptio, CloudZero, Finout and internal finance extracts. Provider credentials, fields, allocation rules and data quality are validated for the selected implementation.
Finance extractsCloud billing dataApptioCloudZeroFinoutSonglines workflow evidence
These names identify potential source systems, not certified native integrations or customer-validated deployments. The source method is confirmed during discovery.
Start with one workflow
Build the first value record before scaling the method.
A bounded pilot begins with one workflow, one approved baseline, one cost source and one accountable finance owner. Scope and timing are confirmed after source and workflow discovery.
Scope the decision
Define the workflow, intended outcome, current portfolio question and authorised owners.
Map the sources
Identify the cost, operational, policy, incident, human-review and finance records available.
Approve the baseline
Record the comparison period, measure, target, assumptions and material dependencies.
Define attribution
Agree how observed change will be linked to the initiative and how alternative causes are treated.
Configure evidence gates
Map the required records and approvals to each progressive value state.
Hold the decision review
Present the current evidence basis and record Scale, Optimise, Review or Retire with an owner and next date.
Method basis
Benefits management and FinOps principles, operationalised for governed AI.
The Value Control method aligns with established guidance that benefits require measurable evidence, an approved baseline, accountable ownership and continuing review, while technology value is managed collaboratively across engineering, finance and business teams.
Evidence before expansion
Make the next AI portfolio decision reviewable.
Start with one selected workflow and establish the evidence, finance review and decision cadence needed before broader rollout.