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.
Einat Steklov is the CEO and co-founder of Kashable.
With more than a decade of experience in a variety of executive roles at high-growth technology companies, Angus McDonald is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Cover Genius overseeing the global expansion and development of Cover Genius across industries.
Before Cover Genius, Angus was the VP of International Business Development at iClick Interactive, and Head of Publisher Partnerships at Yahoo!. Angus has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Technology Sydney and is a passionate contributor to rural and youth wellbeing programs through personal efforts and those of CG Gives, the philanthropic arm of Cover Genius.
Jessica Buss is the CEO of the Argo Group.
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:
