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.
Jesse Knutson is head of operations at Bitfinex Securities. Prior to this role, Knutson served as vice president of financial products at Blockstream, in addition to equities and trading roles at Macquarie Group and Barclays respectively.
Jon Pruzan is co-president of Pretium, overseeing the firm's strategic and operational initiatives. He is a member of Pretium's executive committee and board of directors. Prior to joining Pretium in 2023, Jon spent nearly 30 years at Morgan Stanley (1994-2023), most recently as chief operating officer and executive vice president (2021-23).
Jacob O. William writes about the infrastructure of trust in financial systems, with a focus on fintech, automation and human-centered design.
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:
