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.
Jason Park is senior vice president of digital forensic services at BIA (www.biaprotect.com), a leader in eDiscovery services. A licensed private investigator with over two decades of diverse eDiscovery and computer forensics experience, Park oversees BIA’s data collection, digital forensics, investigation and analysis services for matters of all sizes and complexities. He can be reached at jpark@biaprotect.com.
Jon Lukomnik is a long-time institutional investor who has run a large pension fund, been a managing director at a top ten hedge fund, and also been on the creditor's committee of WorldCom. He currently serve on the Deloitte Audit Quality Advisory Committee and the Standing Advisory Group of the PCAOB.
Jesse Kallman is an expert in the drone and software industry with more than 13 years of related experience. He has worked in various parts of the industry including research at Georgia Tech, federal policy at the FAA, and advocacy with groups like AUVSI. He is president of Atlanta-based, Airbus-backed company, Airbus Aerial.
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:
