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.
Gulzar Singh is a U.K.-based global banking and digital transformation leader with 30+ years of experience in leadership roles at international banks across the U.K. and India. He holds a Ph.D., an MBA and has completed executive education at MIT.
Jessica Jones-Langford is the group accounting manager at Ximplifi, where she leads a QuickBooks accounting team. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit and corporate accounting, she brings a strategic mindset to designing scalable workflows, optimizing financial operations, and delivering accurate reporting tailored to each client's needs. She also plays a key role in driving onboarding, overseeing daily operations and continuously refining team workflows to maintain high service standards.
Jatin Narang is the CEO of Verito, an accounting-focused cloud and IT services provider.
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:
