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.
Matt Loeb is chief executive officer with the ISACA.
Cheryl Ajluni is the IoT solutions lead at Keysight Technologies. Prior to that, she worked as a technical editor and editor-in-chief for magazines such as Electronic Design and Wireless Systems Design, and as an engineer in various positions in the aerospace industry. Cheryl is a patented engineer with a B.Sc. in physics and mathematics from the U.C. Davis and has co-authored multiple books on topics such as RF circuit design and wireless systems design.
Philippa Ryan is a barrister and lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
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:
