Employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic claimed some outlandish expenses this year, including pricey exercise bikes, facelifts and private jets.
Emburse, an expense management software company, released a compilation Wednesday of some of the craziest expenses it has seen claimed this year, some of which were actually approved. That included $1,895, which was approved as a contribution for an employee's Peloton Bike under the explanation of “for health and wellness.” On the other hand, a $7,600 expense claim for a facelift was submitted under the category of “repairs and maintenance” but was rejected, despite the pressing need to look one’s best during a Zoom meeting.
Holly Sraeel is SVP of strategy and content for American Banker Live Media. In her role, she leads content strategy, development and execution for American Banker's editorial rankings, including The Most Powerful Women in Banking™, The Most Innovative People in Finance, Innovation of the Year and the launch of new performance-based rankings.She also leads the development of agenda-setting programming for American Banker's live media portfolio, including its ON-CHAIN Executive Summit, The Most Powerful Women in Banking Conference and Honoree Roundtable, Payments Forum, Digital Banking, Small Business Banking, the new AI Executive Summit, as well as LEADERS and virtual summits.
An award-winning editorial director and media executive, Sraeel has covered global banking, financial services, and capital markets in various media roles for more than 25 years, most recently with an emphasis on on-chain finance, payments, artificial intelligence, risk, cybersecurity, fintech, regulation, compliance, and startups and venture capital.Follow her on LinkedIn and on X at @hollybizonthego.
Laurence Whittam is the founder of Impact Global Solutions, an independent outsourcing consultancy serving CPA firms across the United States. A nationally recognized strategist, speaker, and author, he has been named named a Top 20 Under 40 Influencer by CPA Practice Advisor, and is the co-author of the AICPA Outsourcing Toolkit. He is also the host of the Business Beyond Borders Podcast.
Al Rogers is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience in consumer-driven health and benefits innovation. At ECHO, Al leads the growth and strategy for Premium Payment Manager—an automated payment solution purpose-built to help brokers, TPAs, and carriers deliver ICHRAs that feel and function like traditional group plans.
Some expenses weren’t for working from home, but more about getting out of the house safely. An expense claim for a private jet charter costing over $20,000 was submitted and approved under the explanation of “required to limit COVID exposure for international shoots.” Another travel-related expense claim was $2,500 for a helicopter ride, which was not approved.
The $79 expense claim for a dog crate could perhaps be used for travel at some point when that's safer, but in these times it was more plausibly to provide "crate training [for] a new COVID puppy to not run into Zoom meetings."
Below is an infographic produced by Emburse showing this and several other head-scratching claims:
