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.
Kate Healy is managing director of Generation Next at TD Ameritrade Institutional, focused on advocacy for sustainability issues facing the RIA industry. Healy leads TD Ameritrade Institutional's NextGen and Women's Leadership Initiatives, which support the future of the profession through programs designed to raise visibility, provide support and resources to guide professional development of the next generation of advisors. Follow her on Twitter at @KateHealy_TDA.
Dheeraj Remella is the chief technologist at VoltDB responsible for technical OEM partnerships and enabling customers to take their next step in data driven decision making. He brings 22 years of experience in creating Enterprise solutions in a variety of industries. Dheeraj is a strong believer in cross pollination of ideas and innovation between industries and technologies. Dheeraj holds a bachelors degree in computer engineering from Madras University.
In his role as chief strategy officer, Chris Huff develops and drives the company’s strategic initiatives to become the premier provider of cognitive automation, ensuring better alignment and execution across all functional areas. A thought-leader and recognized expert in the field, Chris was most recently with Deloitte Consulting’s U.S. Public Sector Robotics and Cognitive Automation practice which he led during RPA’s emergence. He previously spent two decades in senior financial management roles at several federal government agencies. Chris earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Columbia College and holds a Master’s in business administration from Webster University.
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:
