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1.       Administration and Utilities

Administration is a Service Function to all functions in company, it is like a Hospitality Company catering all kinds of clients with various needs, The main objective of Admin is to provide all utilities to employees and guests of company and then keep track of goods and utilities in company, In many SME’s this Function does not exists as it is a cost centre and often BOD are made responsible for same as they are key decision makers in various small mundane task which eats most of their time in non-core activities. ABC³M Suggests that Admin and Utilities Function shall be dealt like Outsourced function with planned expenditure and defined activities, As this is a non-core function It comes last in priorities but few essential departments under same make them indispensable, as just like Accounts and Finance every one needs to deal with them.

Departments coming under Admin and Utilities are:

·         Documents & Records Management

·         Utilities

·         Food and Catering

·         Facility Management

·         Employee Records and Travel Scheduling Management

·         Internal Communications and Primary Contacts for External Parties

·         Hospitality

·         Asset Management

·         Maintenance

·         Currier and Postage

·         Consumable Management (Regarding Non-Core Activities)

·         Security

·         Employee and Other Events Management

As all these departments are non-core activities for MOST of the SME’s, they actually shape perception of people inside and outside about company, Even Companies considered as PAY MASTERS keep special attention to these aspects due to their direct effect on Employee Moral,

When day to day operations get hindered due to small things, they become etching point for most people and thus Admin and Utility needs to be treated as Function,

Another important aspect of same is smooth running of operations, When Maintenance, Utilities and Record Keeping becomes disturbed they Directly affect CORE OPERATIONS and thus increasing costs, If such interruptions occur during peak of Business Cycle then it becomes mess and cost for same are not just immediate losses but also long term value loss due to lost business opportunity.

Keeping in this mind this whole function needs to be designed in manner to act as Facilitator having COST and shall be managed accordingly.

From Management Accountants perspective, This is Cost Element can be used as to connect with Individuals to help them understand the Indirect Costs Company is bearing for them and how they can help them translate that into Value Added Infrastructure to help company to increase its efficiency.