It’s a legitimate question.
What I’m proposing — an administration that performs management control, maps processes, supports operational functions and builds relationships with banks using structured data — seems to require skills that exist in much larger, more structured companies.
The answer is no.
The reason is simple: in an SME, multitasking isn’t a limitation. It’s the model.
The Specialist Paradox
Imagine we want to fill all the value-added roles in a structured company: controller, risk manager, financial planner, legal representative and a management consultant. Five roles. Five salaries. Five people to coordinate.
For a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) with 20–50 employees, this option is not only expensive, but also unsustainable. Those five people could not work full time, and the organisation would end up with more problems than it set out to solve.
Yet the need for those skills exists. Data is needed. Analysis is needed. Risk management is needed. A financial plan is needed.
So how do we resolve this paradox?
The AM as a Point of Integration
An SME’s Administrative Manager (AM) cannot be just the head of one important function. Due to their position and access to information, they have the most comprehensive view of the company.
Sales data, personnel costs, supplier invoices, the financial situation and credit trends all pass through their desk. No other function has this comprehensive perspective. No other function is so naturally positioned to connect the various points on the map.
This is the starting point. The aim is not to turn the AM into a super-specialist. It’s about helping them utilise their existing resources — data, access and vision — to provide the company with something it wouldn’t otherwise have: an internal navigation system.
I often use the metaphor of a compass. Management control is like a compass: it doesn’t take the place of the captain in guiding the boat, but navigating without it relies on luck. The AM is the person who holds and interprets the compass. They do this by experiencing the boat firsthand.
What changes in practice
Three concrete changes occur when the AM broadens their focus.
From data to service. The information that the administration department collects every day ceases to be a passive archive and becomes a working tool for colleagues in other departments. The sales manager can see which customers have the greatest impact on working capital. The production manager understands how costs translate into margins. People work with greater awareness.
From reacting to forecasting. An administrator who simply records what has already happened is always playing catch-up. When they regularly analyse data — even in a simple way, without sophisticated tools — they begin to see warning signs before they become problems. This is the value of planning, even in its most basic form.
From cost to performance. Administration is often perceived as a pure cost centre. However, when it starts to produce useful information, improve processes and reduce inefficiencies, its perceived value within the company increases. It becomes a function that generates results and supports growth.
The necessary condition
There is, however, a necessary condition that doesn’t concern tools, but people.
The AM must have the time to do this work. Time can’t be created out of thin air — it must be freed up. This can be achieved by mapping and optimising administrative processes, delegating routine tasks to team members, and using a shared deadline calendar to reduce peaks and avoid last-minute rushes.
In other words, we need to change our priorities and focus on those who are committed to generating revenue, which creates income and cash flow. This shift in perspective requires a well-organised administration department to provide valuable services.
This is the order I always recommend when guiding an SME through this process. It doesn’t start with management control. It starts with organising the function. An AM who is overwhelmed by obligations doesn’t have the mental space to conduct analysis, so it’s pointless to ask him/her to do so.
A valuable role
In the SMEs I follow, when this change of perspective occurs, the benefits are not confined to the administrative office. They spread. The other functions work better. Decisions become more data-driven and less intuitive. The entrepreneur has an internal point of strategic reference.
This is not an immediate process. It requires time, a methodical approach, and a willingness to question established practices. However, it is a path that SMEs can follow, and when executed effectively, it can transform the quality of company management in a lasting way.
The AM does not have to become a superhero. They must understand what operations staff need to do to work better and translate that into revenue and cash flow.
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Kenning Consulting supports small and medium-sized businesses in strengthening their administrative function and introducing practical management control tools adapted to their real needs.