Variance describes the difference between an expected value and the actual value. As an example, a cost variance would be calculated by subtracting the actual cost from the budgeted cost; a cost overrun would result in a negative variance. In inventory control, when undertaking a stock count, if the physical stock differs from the ledger stock this will be a variance and the output of the stock check will be a variance report highlighting the scale and direction of the stock check variance. See also Stock Control.