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.
Sofia Gertsberg is managing director and head of quantitative investment science at HarbourVest Partners, a global private markets investment firm. Prior to joining HarbourVest she was the global head of fixed income and money market risk at State Street Global Advisors.
Nicole Belles is a product leader who turns complex health data into simple, trustworthy solutions. She is the chief product officer of GeneSprout, a pediatrician-founded company using genetic sequencing to improve the health of children by identifying conditions that can be treated or prevented. Throughout her over-two-decade healthcare career, Nicole has been using emerging technologies to build resilient, enduring products with measurable outcomes that address the strategic business needs of all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem.
Jane Bell is a senior industry consultant for risk, fraud and compliance at SAS.
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:
