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.
Brian Nelson is a recognized figure in the Bitcoin and blockchain technology ecosystem. He has presented at numerous industry events across the country on topics ranging from MSB compliance, issues with mass adoption and how blockchain technology is fueling the personal empowerment movement. He also served as a director of the National Money Transmitters Association where he helped develop digital currency initiatives. Brian is also a leading surety bond broker in the money service business space and was the first broker to bring a surety bond solution to digital currency companies. Brian is involved in multiple projects and enjoys helping both financial and non-financial organizations understand how exponential technologies like the blockchain will impact their businesses.
Nicolas Gilot is Co-CEO of Ultra.
Erik Vogel is global vice president at HPE Pointnext, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s future-focused services division focused on creating an optimized end-to-end lifecycle experience – from the core to the cloud to the Intelligent Edge.
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:
