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.
Ed McFadden is the senior vice president for communications at the American Financial Services Association.
Kara Clark, FSA, is a Senior Research Actuary at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, focusing on mortality and longevity and their implications for the life insurance industry.
She brings over three decades of actuarial and leadership experience across consulting, industry, and professional organizations. Most recently, she was a Partner at Oliver Wyman, advising on risk modeling, value-based care, and health strategy, informing her perspective on healthcare drivers of mortality.
Her work emphasizes practical, research-based insights for actuaries and industry leaders. She holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Maik Taro Wehmeyer is the co-founder and CEO of Taktile, the leading AI decision platform built to empower financial institutions to make faster, more accurate decisions in risk management.
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:
