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.
Anthony Pumphrey, CFA, ASA, is vice president of Valuation Research Corporation. He has over 10 years of experience performing business enterprise valuations, purchase price allocations, impairment analyses, and the valuation of claims within complex capital structures for public and private companies under IRC 409a, ASC 350, ASC 360, ASC 718, ASC 805, ASC 820, and ASC 852. Mr. Pumphrey has presented on financial reporting at the American Institute of CPAs' Forensic & Valuation Services Conference and has guest lectured on valuation topics at Drexel University. Mr. Pumphrey holds a bachelor of business administration (BBA) degree in finance and real estate from Temple University. He also holds the designations of chartered financial analyst (CFA) and accredited senior appraiser (ASA), issued by the CFA Institute and the American Society of Appraisers, respectively.
Paul Centopani is an editor for National Mortgage News. Prior to joining Arizent, he worked as an editor at a private equity publication and freelances as a sports writer in his spare time. Paul grew up in Connecticut, graduated from THE Binghamton University and now resides in Chicago after seven years as a New Yorker.
Charlotte Corley is chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance.
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:
