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.
Alex Klein, CPA, is a solution consultant at LeaseAccelerator. Alex works closely with partners at Genpact, RGP, PwC and EY to design solutions for mutual clients. Prior to joining LeaseAccelerator, Alex held finance and accounting leadership roles at various technology and telecommunications firms including Eloqua, Sprint Nextel, and MCI. His experience in vice president, controller, and director-level roles has provided him with a diverse range of experience managing every aspect of finance organizations from accounting and cash management to budgeting and financial planning. Additionally, Alex has extensive financial systems experience implementing numerous ERP, general ledger, accounts payable, and financial reporting systems.
Brad Campbell is a partner at Drinker Biddle, where he focuses on employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Matthew Vernhout is 250ok's director of privacy.
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:
