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.
Jennifer Adams is a senior forecast analyst, focusing on the business technology and eCommerce space. She leverages Forrester's proprietary survey data, along with extensive industry research, to model and develop forward-looking insights into the technology markets. Recent topics of interest include commerce software, cloud security, and mobile devices and developer tools.
Previous Work Experience
Jennifer has over 20 years' experience working with technology, media, and energy companies in forecasting, strategic planning, financial, and marketing roles. Most recently, she provided forecasting, valuation, and strategic planning services to clients in the technology and media space on an advisory basis. Previously, Jennifer worked in the Institutional Research group at Cowen and Company, publishing research reports on the telecom services sector including RBOCs, mobile operators, long-haul carriers, colocation/hosting providers, and satellite operators .Additional experience includes financial and planning positions at global satellite operator Intelsat; economic consulting firm Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett; British Petroleum; and railroad company CSX.
Education
Jennifer earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree in economics from Cornell University. She is a chartered financial analyst (CFA).
Lisa McCann is special counsel in the international corporate tax team of Withers. She focuses on advising clients on US and foreign tax planning and compliance.
Cody J. Fierro is an associate in the Corporate Practice Group in Sheppard Mullin’s Century City office and is a member of the firm's Healthcare Team.
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:
