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Control 3.5: Cost Allocation and Budget Tracking - Verification & Testing

This playbook provides verification and testing procedures for Control 3.5.

Verification Steps

1. Capacity Visibility

  • Access Power Platform Admin Center capacity view
  • Verify all environments visible with correct sizing
  • Confirm business unit tagging is accurate

2. Cost Allocation Accuracy

  • Generate cost report by business unit
  • Verify costs align with actual usage
  • Confirm rate card is applied correctly

3. Budget Alerts

  • Create test budget with low threshold
  • Verify alert emails are received
  • Confirm escalation chain is notified

4. Chargeback Process

  • Generate monthly chargeback report
  • Verify cost center mapping
  • Confirm Finance receives report

Compliance Checklist

Item Required For Status
Cost tracking by business unit SOX 404
Monthly chargeback reports Internal governance
Budget alerts configured Cost management
License utilization tracking Asset management
12-month cost trend data Planning
Approval workflow for overages Budget control

Test Cases

Test Case 1: Cost Visibility

Objective: Verify all AI costs are captured and attributed

Steps:

  1. Generate cost report for all business units
  2. Compare total to Azure and M365 billing
  3. Verify variance is <5%

Expected Result: Complete cost capture with accurate attribution

Test Case 2: Budget Alert Triggering

Objective: Verify budget alerts fire at configured thresholds

Steps:

  1. Set test budget at $100
  2. Generate usage exceeding $50 (50%)
  3. Verify 50% alert received
  4. Continue to 75% and 100%

Expected Result: Alerts received at each threshold

Test Case 3: Chargeback Report Accuracy

Objective: Verify chargeback reports align with actual costs

Steps:

  1. Generate chargeback report for prior month
  2. Compare to Azure Cost Management export
  3. Verify totals match within 1%

Expected Result: Chargeback accurately reflects actual costs

Test Case 4: License Utilization

Objective: Verify license utilization tracking works

Steps:

  1. Generate license utilization report
  2. Compare active users to assigned licenses
  3. Identify under-utilized licenses (>30 days inactive)

Expected Result: Clear view of license efficiency

Evidence Collection

For audits, collect:

  • Monthly chargeback reports (12 months)
  • Budget vs. actual variance reports
  • License utilization trends
  • Cost allocation methodology documentation
  • Finance approval of rate cards

Next Steps

Updated: January 2026 | Version: v1.2