ASA institutional support systems are key to smooth and efficient operations. Innovations and simplificaton of staff training, monitoring and bookkeeping are the three areas responsible for ASA's ability to effectively manage established units and pursue bold growth initiatives simultaneously. Standardized management procedure along with a detailed guide book minimizes bureaucracy and manpower requirements.

The ASA Manual, or guidebook, is invaluable to efficient operations in the field. A copy of the manual is in each office and referred to frequently. All branch rules, regulations and procedures are in this book. The manual goes into great detail on nearly everything which allows staff to begin serving several hundred clients after only one week of training.

Also keeping ASA a dynamic institution is the close relationships that the field level and upper management staff develop as a result of measures adopted to ensure efficient operations. The Branch Manager (BM) is actively involved with groups, visiting regularly to check passbooks of individual group members with the books in the Branch Office. The District Officer (DO) visits two or three branches daily to make sure the accounts are up-to-date and accurate, but just as importantly to make sure relationships within the unit are conducive to a friendly work atmosphere. In fact, the DO makes it a point to regularly spend the evening in the branches to better get to know branch staff, and get a better feel for what after-work hours are like.