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.
A London Market insurance professional who combines a strong technical background with sound commercial skills, Peter Smyth was director of operations at pioneering early insurtech TriSystems. The company was acquired by Ebix in August 2012 and renamed to Ebix Europe. As vice president, Smyth is at the centre of the drive to transform the London and Global re/Insurance markets.
Spencer Hoffman is vice president of product at POS Nation.
Khadim Batti, CEO and co-founder of Whatfix, co-founded the company with Vara Kumar in 2014 with the mission of empowering individuals and organizations to freely use and experience the maximum benefits of technology. An entrepreneur at heart with an engineer's mind, Batti is also giving back to the start-up community by sharing his passion, knowledge, and mentorship with aspiring talent for over a decade and a half. He also serves as the grievance redressal officer for Whatfix.
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:
