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.
With over 12 years as both a practitioner and analyst specializing in the management of digital technology assets, Victoria Barber's role at Snow Software focuses on educating, informing and advising global organizations how to realize the full benefits of implementing effective technology asset management programs. She works with technology and business stakeholders around the world to help them build the appropriate governance, teams and capabilities to support digital business goals.
Caitlin Willich is director of data visualization at Clarity Insights, the largest onshore U.S. consultancy focused exclusively on data and analytics.
Steve Whitehurst is CEO of Health Fidelity.
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:
