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.
John Czapla, CFA, is senior managing director and heads Valuation Research Corporation’s portfolio valuation group. Czapla has 23+ years of experience performing business valuations, valuations of complex securities, valuations of intellectual property, and solvency and fairness opinions. He can be reached at (609) 243-7016 or JCzapla@ValuationResearch.com.
Paul Balynsky. CFA, CPA/ABV, is managing director of Valuation Research Corporation’s portfolio valuation group and specializes in valuations of portfolios of privately held securities, primarily for financial reporting purposes. He has performed valuations of securities along the entire capital structure including senior debt, subordinated debt and complex, multi-class equity structures. He can be reached at (609) 243-7027 or PBalynsky@ValuationResearch.com.
Bill Dobbins is the head of business development for Visa Inc., located in Delaware.
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:
