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.
As Research Director of Aite Group’s Retail Banking & Payments practice, Julie Conroy covers fraud, data security, and anti-money laundering issues. She has more than a decade of hands-on product management experience working with financial institutions, payments processors, and risk management companies, including a number of years leading the product team at Early Warning Services. Julie is often quoted in numerous media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, U.S News and World Report, American Banker, and the New York Times.� Julie is fluent in Spanish and holds an M.A. in International Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a B.A. in Business Administration from the Michigan State University Honors College.�
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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:
