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.
James Mendelsohn is the chief operating officer and chief revenue officer at Breakout Capital Finance. He was formerly the chief marketing officer at CAN Capital. Mendelsohn also worked at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he advised global clients in the financial services sector on marketing analytics, market intelligence, digital strategy, and customer experience.
Ben Richmond is a chartered accountant and managing director, North America, at Xero. He started his career in a large regional accounting practice before joining New Zealand's largest telecommunications company working on SEC compliance and investor reporting, while also serving a two-year term on the board of one of New Zealand's largest charitable foundations.
Mark Friedlich, Esq., CPA, is the former vice president of U.S. government affairs at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting and now leads Friedlich Law Group.
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:
