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.
Kate Laminack is a model risk management and validation analyst II at Regions Bank. The opinions expressed in this article are statements of the author’s opinion, are intended only for informational purposes, and are not formal opinions of, nor binding on Regions Bank, its parent company, Regions Financial Corp. and their subsidiaries, and any representation to the contrary is expressly disclaimed.
Tessa Breslin is managing director, Americas at YSC Consulting, an independent consultancy that helps organizations understand if they have the leadership needed to achieve their future strategies. Breslin specializes in individual assessment along with development and coaching of high-potential leaders, especially women.
Paolo Sironi is an author on economics, finance and technology. He is elected member of IBM Industry Academy and mentors top managers on business model transformation in the digital era.
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:
