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.
The funds will be in addition to the $160 million from the Emergency Reserve Fund that the board released March 12.
Tim Ryan is U.S. chair and senior partner of PwC. Previously, he served as vice chair responsible for the firm’s strategy and stakeholder relationships including investor relations, regulatory affairs, public policy, corporate responsibility and human capital. With nearly three decades of diversified experience serving clients in the financial services industry in the U.S. and internationally, he also previously led PwC's Assurance practice and before that, led PwC's U.S. Financial Services practice and PwC's Consumer Finance Group. In 2017, he worked with a group of CEOs to launch The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion — the largest ever CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
We've had many chances to learn, from the dot-com bust to the 2008 financial crisis. But the storm is perhaps most applicable to our current situation.
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:
