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.
Alexander Hagerup is co-founder and CEO at Vic.ai, which is pioneering the use of autonomy and intelligence to digitally transform accounting and finance processes to improve productivity, decision-making, and ROI. Alexander is a serial tech entrepreneur with a strong passion for artificial intelligence. Prior to launching Vic.ai, he founded two other technology companies; his most recent venture was funded by Northzone Ventures and later acquired by NASDAQ-listed J2 Global Inc., in 2014.
Dave Reubzaet is director of global advisory and tax lead at the Global Reporting Initiative and leads the global engagement on tax, including the GRI 207 tax-reporting standard. In this role, he advises and engages with organizations around the globe to advance sustainability in policies, business strategies and reporting and emphasize its importance for sustainable development. He has more than 20 years of international experience in advising corporates and financial institutions on sustainability, from sustainable business strategy to risk management and sustainability reporting. His specialization is in sustainable tax, covering topics like responsible tax investing, good tax governance and tax transparency.
Melissa Bartlett is senior vice president of health policy, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), leading the development of ERIC's health policy and advocacy for its legislative and regulatory priorities at the federal, state and local levels.
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:
