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.
Tom Oscherwitz is vice president of Legal and regulatory advisor at Informed.IQ, an AI software company with a specialty in auto lending. He has over 25 years of experience as a senior government regulator (CFPB, U.S. Senate) and as a fintech legal executive working at the intersection of consumer data, analytics and regulatory policy.
Donald Musso is the president and CEO of FinPro Inc.
Chris Lafond is the Chief Executive Officer at Insurity. With over 35 years' experience in the technology, financial, insurance and sectors, Chris has a deep understanding of the market challenges and objectives faced by multinational corporations. His expertise includes strategic planning, investor relations, and transformational leadership. Under his leadership, Insurity has experienced consistent growth, reinforcing its position as the largest cloud-based software provider in P&C insurance with 330+ customers deployed in AWS and Azure.
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:
