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 Parsons serves as Head of Digital Strategy for Amwins where he is responsible for developing and implementing digital offerings for retail clients. His diverse background of over 15 years includes expertise in actuarial services, underwriting and technology. Tom graduated from Southampton University with a bachelor's degree in Economics and holds a Master's in Finance from Cambridge University.
Patrick Noonan is Advisor360°'s product manager for wealth management and insurance, responsible for guiding the development of the company's tools that help advisors facilitate the financial planning process and work more efficiently. Prior to joining Advisor360°, he was a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch and Janney Montgomery Scott, and an advanced planning consultant at Commonwealth Financial Network.
Moe Sayadi, a solution architect and CEO at Djuno, a company that develops AI technology that helps businesses optimize their cloud IT infrastructure for better performance and lower cost.
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:
