In an exploratory study, Gurd & Thomas (2012) present survey evidence collected from 103
non-family CFOs working for small or medium-sized Australian FBs. They found that in a
lot of cases, the controlling family does not fully leverage the potentially fruitful
contributions and knowledge of the CFO, but for critical financial issues, rather turned to an
external financial advisor. Nevertheless, they also point out that for maintaining smooth
operation of the finance functions, family CEOs should rely heavily on the CFOs’
knowledge unless family CEOs have significant finance knowledge themselves. Gurd &
Thomas (2012) theorize that the relatively low estimation of the CFO by the controlling
families might also be due to controlling families opting to hire rather unobtrusive CFOs,
who have to focus on the proper operation of the FB’s finance functions, but not on the FB’s
strategic course. The authors therefore suggest that in order to enable a more proactive CFO
role, controlling families might lower the “level of secrecy of financial information and be
more proactive in seeking the advice of the CFO” (Gurd & Thomas, 2012, p. 302).