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.
Brian Swanson is a partner at Flashpoint Marketing, a marketing consulting firm that focuses on providing traditional and digital lead generation services exclusively to the accounting profession. In 2008 he joined Flashpoint to lead the development of the firm's digital services practice. Prior to joining Flashpoint, Swanson worked for a Big Four firm assisting with audit practice marketing and development. He has also worked as the director of marketing & business development for a regional accounting firm in the Southeast United States. In 2009 he earned his Master in Business Administration in Finance from Benedictine University. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Northeastern Illinois University. He was the first accounting marketing professional to earn certification from the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization in internet marketing and advanced search engine optimization. He is currently a member of the Association of Accounting Marketing and SEMPO.
Jennifer Briggs, CAE, is president and CEO of the Indiana CPA Society. She joined the society staff in 2002 and served as the special projects manager, marketing manager, marketing director, director of member services, vice president of member services, senior vice president and chief operating officer. Before joining the society, Briggs spent three years at KWK Management Group as executive director of five state-wide associations overseeing all activities of the organizations, including education programs, marketing, membership recruitment, and various government relations activities. Prior to that, she worked for the Indiana Apartment Association and for five years at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. Briggs earned a degree in marketing from Marian College and an MBA from Butler University, and is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and the Indiana Society of Association Executives. In 2009, she was awarded the Association Professional of the Year award from ISAE. She has served on the American Society of Association Executives CAE Exam Committee, the AICPA’s Future of Learning Committee and various community boards of directors.
Elizabeth Mitchell is President and CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), an action-oriented 501c(3) non-profit organization focused on improving health outcomes, experience and affordability for consumers and purchasers across the United States. Mitchell is a transformational healthcare leader whose career has focused on improving health outcomes and affordability.
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:
