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.
The pandemic has upended many business tasks, creating a rush among processors to expand the digital experience without complicating it.
Dennis Beresford was chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board from 1987-1997 and was previously national director of accounting standards at Ernst & Young. He is currently an executive in residence at the J.M. Tull School of Accounting at the University of Georgia. In 2004 he was elected to the Accounting Hall of Fame and received the AICPA Gold Medal for distinguished service. In 2006 he was selected as one of the inaugural inductees of the Financial Executives International Hall of Fame.
Jill R. Shah is a reporter at Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit Adviser. She can be contacted via email at jill.shah@arizent.com.
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:
