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.
Gemma Ros is the chief technology officer at TheZebra.com, the company simplifying the insurance shopping experience. In this role, Gemma leads the engineering, DevOps, and data teams, driving innovation and operational excellence. She is an excellent source on technology innovation in the insurtech space, what it means to be an impactful and effective leader, her journey to the CTO role and more.
Gemma is a senior technology executive and business strategist with more than 20 years of experience in financial services and product development. Gemma began her career as a developer at a bulge bracket investment bank, where she gained deep expertise in building robust, scalable, and low-latency trading and risk management systems in dynamic environments. After eight years on Wall Street, she co-founded a technology startup, then expanded her expertise to insurtech and private lending before joining TheZebra.com in 2022.
Throughout her career, Gemma has been recognized for delivering high-impact technology solutions, building and scaling high-performing teams, and attracting and retaining top engineering talent.
She holds a master's degree in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. Outside of her professional experiences, Gemma enjoys spending time with her kids, reading, and adding to her ever-expanding Lego collection.
Brad LaPorte is chief marketing officer at Morphisec and a former Gartner analyst. He is a seasoned cybersecurity expert and former military officer specializing in cybersecurity and military intelligence for the U.S. military and allied forces.
Anurag Shah heads Newgen's Products & Solutions Division in the Americas, including the Caribbean, South, and Central American regions. He also leads GSI relations as well as consulting and pre-sales in the Americas. He has been with Newgen for over 22 years. In his previous role, he led and managed delivery and professional services for enterprise customers.
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:
