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.
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Art Dickerson is a seasoned business development executive with decades of experience and understands motivation of customers and influencers critical to Catapult’s success. He was a trusted advisor for twenty years to large/jumbo employers at leading firms like E&Y and Mercer. Dickerson was also a senior vice president of sales and marketing and chief strategy and operations officer for the national accounts arm of the Blue Cross Blue Shield system (Consortium Health Plans).
Besides deep experience in strategic selling and sales management, Art is a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist with multiple insurance licenses. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree at the University of Louisville and studied executive financial management at Babson College.
Research credits could look very different for some companies in 2020 compared to other years.
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:
