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.
Natalie Pierce is the chair of the employment & labor practice, at Gunderson Dettmer
Nilesh Vaidya is executive vice president and global head of banking and capital markets at Capgemini.
He has been with Capgemini for more than 20 years and is an expert in managing digital journeys for clients in the areas of core banking transformation, payments and wealth management. He works with clients to help them launch new banking products with their underlying technology.
Seth Fineberg is a consultant to the public accounting profession and the founder of Accountants Forward. A highly seasoned editor and business journalist, he was previously editor of AccountingWeb and technology editor of Accounting Today.
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:
