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.
John Winner is the CEO of data management platform Kizen.
Fabrizio Tocchini is head of innovation for CCH Tagetik at Wolters Kluwer. He has more than 16 years of experience in the performance management and business intelligence market. As head of innovation for CCH Tagetik, he is responsible for product discovery, development, and commercialization. During his career, Tocchini has held various roles: starting as a consultant, he then dedicated himself to the presale, to the development of the international market and then to the management of CCH Tagetik Benelux and CCH Tagetik Nordic as leader of the two operations.
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:
