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.
Michael Römer is a partner with the global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the global lead of Digital Transformation Practice. Michael is based in A.T. Kearney’s Munich office and can be reached at Michael.Roemer@atkearney.com
David Dimond is the Chief Innovation Officer for Dell EMC’s Global Healthcare and Life Sciences Business. He is responsible for the international growth of the business across both established and emerging healthcare economies around the world. Dave joined EMC to start-up their healthcare business where he developed national accounts, defined growth strategies and led product development
Dag Detter, former CEO of Stattum, the Swedish government holding company, was the co-author of The Public Wealth of Cities and The Public Wealth of Nations, listed among the best books of 2015 by the Economist and The Financial Times
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:
