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.
Benny Saban is CEO of Sonarax.
Ed D'Alessio is the executive director of INFiN, a financial services alliance. Based in Washington, DC, INFiN represents the diverse and innovative licensed consumer financial services industry with more than 350 member companies operating 8,000 locations throughout the United States and online.
Ed has more than 20 years of experience representing the consumer financial services industry. Prior to INFiN, Ed served as the executive director and general counsel of Financial Service Centers of America (FiSCA).
Dianne Crocker is the principal analyst for EDR Insight, based in Shelton, Conn.
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:
