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.
Mathieu Benoit has 15 years of experience in investment accounting. He is currently working as a consulting lead at Eagle Investment Systems, where he helps clients adopt Eagle’s Accounting platform. He began his career working for Standard Life in their fund accounting operations. In 2010 he became an independent consultant specialized in investment system conversions with a number of those clients migrating off legacy technology and moving to the Eagle platform. He earned his CPA in 2007 and has a wide range of expertise including investment system conversion, investment accounting, data management, derivatives and NAV calculation.
Kim Lochridge is executive vice president for Engineered Tax Services Inc., a provider of specialty tax services. Prior to joining ETS, she spent over a quarter of a century in entrepreneurship, with roles within the real estate and energy industry. She is also a frequent speaker in the tax, investment, private wealth, and family office spaces.
David Stevens is the CEO of Mountain Lake Consulting. He is the former CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association and a former FHA commissioner.
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:
