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.
Krishnan Raghunathan is head of finance and accounting services at WNS, a digital-led business transformation and services partner.
Bodhi Silberling is a student at the University of California, Berkeley.
Paul Boynton is co-Founder and COO of Company Search Incorporated (CSI), a next-generation platform for Business Intelligence and Business Analytics. Paul's expertise as a developer, implementer and provider of information emerged from decades of utilizing data-driven decisions servicing industry leaders, multinationals and SMEs in the corporate insurance space. Paul has been instrumental in the development, construction and marketing of the CSI platform, a vision and mandate to provide a powerful business intelligence resource for most disciplines in the business world.
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:
