On a multiyear project near the end of the first year, some features funded from this year's budget were added late as change requests and will not be ready by year-end. What should the project manager do?

The correct answer is to provide an update to the financial department. As a project manager, it's crucial to maintain transparency and communicate project status accurately, especially when it impacts financial planning and budget cycles. The features funded this year but not completed by year-end represent a financial obligation that needs to be carried over or re-budgeted, which the finance department must be aware of. Asking the team to test partially completed features for payment is unethical and likely violates contract terms. Authorizing payment for features planned for next year that are now complete is premature and could lead to financial mismanagement or overspending of the current year's budget. Creating a new nonbinding contract without fixed deliverables is not a solution for managing current year-end financial realities and could introduce significant risk.