Audio streaming platform Audible may have found a way to solve the vexing problem of striking the right remote-work balance plaguing so many companies right now.

Instead of mandating specific days and times for employees to be in the office, Audible launched a program last year called the “hub and home hybrid workplace” model which allows employees to choose their work location based on the kind of work they were doing.

The policy encourages employees to come into the office for collaborative work, like brainstorming or budget negotiations, and to work from home on more individualized work that requires deep focus, like writing up financial planning and analysis (FP&A) reports or closing the books.

For Audible CFO and growth officer Cynthia Chu, the program empowers teams to find the flexibility that works best for them, is inclusive of employees’ needs and lives, and improves employee engagement.

“A more modernized way of working is not completely remote, and it’s not…completely back into the office,” Chu told CFO Brew. “It’s somewhere in between and creating that flexibility…really depends on the work we’re trying to get done.”

However, creating that balance takes careful consideration and listening to employees is key, one workplace expert told CFO Brew.

“It’s really about sitting down with your team and deciding that a lot of it comes down to how interdependent versus independent your work is,” said Ben Wigert, director of research and strategy, workplace management at Gallup. “Then, talking about how your team works best together.” Continue reading here.—DA

Coworking is a weekly segment where we talk to CFOs and others in the finance space about their experiences, their companies, and the larger economy. Let us know if you are—or you know—a CFO we should interview.

Chris Ortega is the founder and CEO of Fresh FP&A, a fractional CFO and advisory services firm based in Indiana. He has a background in public accounting, an MBA, and serves as a fractional CFO for a number of clients.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How do you think the CFO role has changed over the past five to 10 years?

Traditional CFOs stayed in the number, analysis, and spreadsheet lane. The value they brought to businesses was scorekeeping. Modern, or “fresh,” CFOs are great communicators, collaborators, and build connections inside and outside the finance organization.

The modern CFO is tasked with bringing clarity for operations through technology, business partnership, and driving high performance. Also, the value proposition for fractional CFOs is something that will continue to increase in the upcoming years. Fractional CFOs…come with the skills, passions, talents, and experiences that businesses can operationalize immediately at a fraction of the time, energy, costs, and resources compared to full-time CFOs. I see this as a big opportunity for businesses and financial professionals.

What’s something we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile?

That I used to be an amateur boxer, and that I was originally a marketing major in college before switching to accounting and finance.

What advice do you have for future CFOs?

Get comfortable and enjoy the warm and fuzzy parts of your business—put on the “Chief Feeling Officer” hat. Continue reading here. —DA

Stat: 4+ million. That’s the number of users the founder of fintech startup Frank claimed it had when JP Morgan was acquiring the company last year; a lawsuit brought by JP Morgan alleges the actual number was fewer than 300,000 accounts.(Forbes)

Quote: “We don’t know why he would be helpful on the board.”—a “Disney insider,” speaking about activist investor Nelson Peltz, who’s making a bid to join the board of directors of the House of Mouse. (the Financial Times)

Read: More than a decade after it was first introduced, the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) remains extremely popular in south Florida. (the New York Times)

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