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.
Rupert Shaw is chief commercial officer at Ding.
John G. Bruno serves as Aon’s Chief Operating Officer as well as Chief Executive Officer of Aon’s Data & Analytic Services Solution Line, which includes the firm’s technology-enabled Affinity and Human Capital Solutions businesses. Bruno joined Aon in September 2014 and has served in several leadership positions with increasing responsibility including Executive Vice President of Enterprise Innovation & Chief Information Officer and Chief Operations Officer & head of Aon Business Services.
Prior to joining Aon, Bruno was Executive Vice President, Industry & Field Operations and Corporate Development for NCR Corporation, where he led all of NCR’s lines of business inclusive of financial services, retail, hospitality, travel, telecom and technology, interactive printer solutions and small business.
Throughout his 30-year career he has held senior business and technology leadership positions with increasing responsibilities with Fortune 500 companies including United Parcel Service, Cisco Systems, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. Bruno currently serves on the Board of Directors for Global Payments
Amid the economic crisis, many people are looking for sources of cash and can no longer afford their insurance premiums.
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:
