It's necessary to read the substance of the
NPR article you posted and not merely sever off the headline and serve it as embodying Hunter Biden's statements in his interview with ABC that the article is about.
As Hunter Biden made clear, the reason he thinks it was a bad idea is not because it was unscrupulous, improper, or regrettable business-wise, but because of Donald Trump's proclivity of accepting debunked disinformation as fact and chasing after conspiracy theories. When the attempt to dig up dirt is made, even if there is no dirt to be found, it makes a mess on everyone standing nearby. He stated:
As for the claim that Hunter Biden was being paid "for doing nothing" that's one made by his father's political opponent, and is contrast to what more than a dozen people, including executives at Burisma and former prosecutors in Ukraine, stated in interviews about his five-year term on the board. They've portrayed him as a genuinely helpful non-executive director who provided advice on legal issues and consultation on corporate finance and strategy. He has a JD from Yale. Prior to his position at Burisma he was an attorney with one of
the most prestigious, high-profile law firms. He also was vice chairman of the board of Amtrak for five years, and the chairman of the board of the U.N. World Food Program. He confounded an international consulting firm.
Trump and his base have argued Hunter Biden's position was only titular in nature because he didn't personally travel to Ukraine, but that's an erroneous belief. It's a common practice today for investment advisory and political consulting firms to provide their services remotely. It's what the major K Street and Silicon Valley firms like RiceHadleyGates regularly do. It's also customary for them to have retainers from their clients. Not the type that go in your mouth, haha, but the fees paid in advance to secure services. Biden regularly attended Burisma’s twice annual board meetings – all of which were held outside of Ukraine. Executives has stated that he routinely took part in strategic conversations; shared his opinions and experience; provided analysis of assets the company was considering buying abroad; and had a crucial role in finding lawyers when they were looking to secure a financing deal with foreign investment funds.