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.
Brooke DeWyze is the Chief Development Officer for PCF Insurance Services. She is responsible for driving M&A strategy, forging industry partnerships, enabling acquisition growth, and cultivating relationships with prospective agencies and key stakeholders. Brooke also leads due diligence processes.
Casey Jorgensen is the head of the Dynasty Institute for Adaptive Leadership (DIAL) at Dynasty Financial Partners, where she helps leading wealth management firms improve efficiency, growth and margins.
She played a key role in expanding DIAL's programs and the Dynasty Women's Network. Previously, she was a business development strategist at Raymond James, focusing on advisor coaching and succession planning. Her insights have also appeared in Barron's and AdvisorHub, and she's a frequent speaker at industry events. She is also active in her community and holds a BA in business administration, CFP, whole family advisor associate and registered corporate coach designations.
Einat Steklov is the CEO and co-founder of Kashable.
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:
