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.
Lev Kurts is the chief technology officer at ServiceChannel, ensuring that the company has an innovative and credible technology strategy and plan that supports its business goals. Lev has nearly a decade of experience in managing highly distributed teams responsible for the design and development of business-to-business software solutions. Before joining ServiceChannel, Lev served as director of product management at Workspeed Management where he led the product line strategy and roadmap and was fully responsible for the design and market delivery of multiple product versions and dozens of customer-driven features.
Steve Ozonian is president and CEO of Williston Financial Group.
Susan Peterson is digital lead, energy industries, at ABB. The firm aids customers with every level of digitalization, from planning to implementation, considering business priorities and challenges, as well as long-term goals.
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:
