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.
John O’Rourke is vice president of product marketing at OneStream Software. With a background in accounting and finance, he has over 30 years of experience in the software industry, including 20 years of experience in CPM product marketing. He has worked with many customers and partners on financial reporting and planning initiatives and has spoken and written on many topics in corporate performance management. O'Rourke has also held positions in strategic marketing and product marketing at Hyperion Solutions, Oracle, Host Analytics and Dun & Bradstreet Software. He has a BS degree in accounting from Bentley University and an MBA from Boston College.
Donald P. Speakman owns The Speakman Financial Group in Pittsburgh, PA.
Joseph Thompson is CEO and cofounder of AID: Tech.
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:
