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.
Amanda Martell is director of human resources for LifeSpeak Inc. She has extensive experience across a range of industries and is skilled in leadership, training and development, and employee relations.
Ellen Choi is the CEO of Edgefield Group, a consultancy that offers services at the intersection of AI, technology, and business transformation to solve Top 500 CPA firms' biggest challenges. She is the Co-Founder and Advisor at Aiwyn, a technology company helping accounting firms streamline their practice management. Aiwyn has been recognized with Forbes 100 Rising Stars, Boomer Visionary Award, and AccountingToday's Award. Her past includes working in Google' Finance team, Stanford engineering, and Harvard MBA. She is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for driving innovation in the accounting profession.
Jonathan Steele is the director of product management at Motus, the mobile workforce solution simplifying the reimbursement and management of all vehicle and device costs through personalized calculations.
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:
