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.
Matt Chisholm is senior vice president of business solutions at Commonwealth Financial Network, working to ensure that advisors have access to the consultants, programs and resources needed to build scalable, sustainable businesses. Previously, he was senior vice president of practice management and consulting at Fidelity Investments.
Angela Abbott has spent over 20 years in the billing and payments industry and has dedicated more than half of that time to the insurance market. In her current role as AVP, Insurance at InvoiceCloud, Angela works closely with carriers and providers to ensure successful integrations of InvoiceCloud's cutting-edge electronic bill presentment and payment solution.
Rajat Dubey is an accomplished cybersecurity professional with 14+ years of experience in IT security, cyber strategy, risk advisory and security compliance for the insurance, banking & financial industries. He holds Masters of Engineering in Cyber Security-Policy and Compliance from The George Washington University, Washington D.C and a Master of Business Administration from Rotman School of Management - University of Toronto.
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:
