Explanation
The project manager should take proactive actions to address the concern of the project sponsor about the potential conflict between the project implementation date and the company's financial budget planning period. One action is to facilitate a risk workshop with all stakeholders in attendance to identify and assess all risks to the project, including the one raised by the sponsor. This will help to create a common understanding of the project risks and their potential impact on the project objectives1. Another action is to log the concern as a risk in the project risk register and assess the impact and severity of the risk. This will help to document the risk and its characteristics, such as probability, impact, priority, response strategy, and owner2. These actions will enable the project manager to communicate the risk status and response plan to the sponsor and other stakeholders effectively. Changing the project implementation date (B) may not be feasible or desirable, as it may affect the project scope, schedule, cost, and quality. Communicating to the sponsor that the implementation date is low risk may not be accurate or convincing, as the project is still in the initiation phase and the risk analysis has not been done. Advising the sponsor that it is not feasible to determine if the end date will be met (D) may not be helpful or reassuring, as it may indicate a lack of planning and control over the project. References: 1: PMBOK Guide, 6th Edition, pp. 397-3982: PMBOK Guide, 6th Edition, p.
436.