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.
Jed Danbury is a vice president at Computop.
Ellen is a principal analyst serving financial services technology decision makers in roles such as CIOs and enterprise architects in the insurance and wealth, investment, and asset management industries. Her research focuses on the technology decisions that financial services firms are investing in, including core platforms modernization and replacement and the integration of emerging technologies with legacy systems to drive better digital experiences and improved operational efficiency.
Previous Work Experience
Prior to her current research coverage, Ellen spent eight years providing strategic analysis and advice to Forrester’s insurance digital business strategy clients, focusing on eBusiness strategies and best practices in digital and customer experience as well as adoption trends for property and casualty, life, group, and health insurers.
Ellen brings 30 years of experience in delivering technical and professional services to clients in a variety of industries and markets. She joined Forrester from the former ThruPoint, a New York-based professional services firm, where she was a principal consultant focusing on IT service business strategy to Global 100 clients in securities, banking, and insurance; telecommunications; and media and entertainment. Before joining ThruPoint, Ellen was a director and principal analyst for Gartner, following the infrastructure services market, including consulting, support, and managed services.
Ellen has presented on vertical-industry and role-based marketing in a variety of Forrester and client events. She has been cited in Forbes, Fortune, the New York Times, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, Best’s Review, Carrier Management, Rough Notes, Digital Insurance, New Scientist, and American Banker.
Education
Ellen received a B.S. in economics from Southern New Hampshire University.
Employee Benefit News' March/April issue explores how workplaces are navigating pandemic challenges and making plans to return to the office.
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:
