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.
Pat Forgione is the chief technology officer of Ivans.
Connie Loveland is the owner and senior consultant at CSL Consulting, an affiliate of The NBS Group.
Maureen Doyle-Spare is the General Manager of Asset and Wealth Management and Insurance at UST. She has over 25+ years of experience leading teams in the finance sector, delivering innovation that delivers disruptive, problem-solving solutions for clients. Maureen is a results-driven leader focusing on providing value to clients through transformation. Her strong domain consultative approach and deep knowledge of emerging trends, industry best practices, and regulatory mandates allow her to create differentiated solutions and better client outcomes. She has deep experience executing enterprise-scale change management initiatives in business and digital transformations, including adopting disruptive technologies.
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:
