As professional capital market servants, you regularly purchase goods and services for business reasons. Airfare. Bic pens. Strippers. They all, at one time or another, have been purchased in the name of commerce. Unfortunately, what constitutes as a "business expense" is subject to wide interpretation. For example, a large elaborate lunch with various co-workers is commonly referred to as "team building." The aforementioned strippers could easily be described as "entertainment." U2 tickets can be classified as "mentoring event," and so on and so forth. This type of borderline abuse causes for many awkward conversations between a HR representative and the perpetrator. Trust me, I've been there.
Anyway, Accounting Today has a little slideshow on "unusual" items that have found their way on to expense reports that was dug up by a Bob Half survey. Everything from cosmetic surgery to smokes to porn to early 20th century prarie abodes were submitted by someone, somewhere. And while those are all good examples, it seems appropriate to ask you all to participate by sharing your most ridiculous interpretations of the company's expense policy. Is bottle service becoming your preferred entertainment for newly minted interns? Are you stretching the definition of "reasonable" to include box seats for a Knicks game? Is a client doubling as a secret lover and you've been going to some fancy "business lunches"? However you've managed to successfully navigate the tricky waters of legitimate business expenses, we want to hear about your (mis)adventures. Spare no details.
