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.
Diane Schumaker-Krieg is a senior finance executive with over 30 years in leadership roles on Wall Street. She appeared for nine consecutive years on American Banker’s list of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance.
Dan Scholl is head of municipal finance for Wilmington Trust. He was co-head of municipal asset management for Schroder investments, and has worked directly for two governors, three state chief financial officers, and briefly served as deputy treasurer for the state of Delaware over the last 30 years.
Emily VanVleet is a partner and the tax operate transformation leader for Deloitte Tax LLP. She has more than 20 years of experience in tax consulting, strategic process design and practical approaches to tax transformation.
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:
