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.
Jane Possell is senior vice president and chief information officer for CNA, responsible for all aspects of the company’s technology portfolio. Jane joined CNA in 2019 from Liberty Mutual where she served in a variety of roles, both in business and technology areas. She was most recently responsible for all Small Commercial and Personal Lines Digital Technology.
Prior to that, Jane spent more than 20 years at Accenture working with 20 of the top 25 U.S. Property & Casualty insurers. As a Managing Director for Accenture, Jane led account teams of up to 750 responsible for identifying, shaping and delivering client solutions, while building internal capabilities for Accenture.
Jane has extensive experience leading global teams and building and executing Diversity & Inclusion strategies. She is passionate about developing leaders and teams that co-create high-quality organizational cultures and use the power of diversity to drive business results.
Jane holds dual degrees in Finance and Communications from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She is also a graduate of the Leadership Development Program from the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dayna Chucta is a consumer financial services litigation attorney with McCarter & English
Jim Richards is founder and principal of RegTech Consulting.
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:
