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.
Jimmy O’Reilly is a senior associate at Novarica. Prior to joining the firm, Jimmy worked in financial planning and wealth management. He has a BA in Economics and a Creative Writing Certificate from Wesleyan University. He can be reached directly at joreilly@novarica.com.
Paul Legutko is Vice President of Digital Marketing and Analytics at Novarica. Paul has 20 years of experience in research and analysis, specializing in designing and applying analytical solutions to a wide range of data sets and problems. After nine years in digital analytics consulting, Paul spent five years as a senior manager at Ernst & Young, focused on activating customer data within marketing and business strategy contexts. Prior to joining Novarica, Paul led Business Intelligence at Hill Holliday. Paul holds a PhD from the University of Michigan and a BA from Harvard University. He can be reached directly at plegutko@novarica.com.
Patrick Campos is chief strategy officer at Securrency.
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:
