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.
Peter Dugas is an Executive Director at Capco and leads Capco's Center of Regulatory Intelligence, focusing on delivering political and regulatory intelligence and optimizing regulatory change management programs for clients across the globe. With 25 years of experience helping clients solve their most pressing governmental challenges, Peter's career has primarily focused on providing advice on laws and regulations, regulatory affairs, and risk and compliance for financial services clients and Fortune 500 companies.
Before joining Capco, Peter worked as a lobbyist for the financial services industry and has served in senior executive positions in the U.S. Government, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury, CDFI Fund, U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. Small Business Administration. He is frequently featured in publications such as Wall Street Journal, American Banker, The Hill, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Law, Politico, and Business Insider.
Brittney Bello is the president and co-founder of SolV Independent Insurance Associates.
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:
