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Ski trips, beef, plastic surgery among the most unusual expense report requests

A slaughter manager looks over sides of beef hanging in a cooling room at the Creekstone Farm Premium Beef meatpacking plant in Arkansas City, Kan. A side of beef, a dog, a ski trip and plastic surgery are among the most unusual expense report requests , according to a study.

A slaughter manager looks over sides of beef hanging in a cooling room at the Creekstone Farm Premium Beef meatpacking plant in Arkansas City, Kan. A side of beef, a dog, a ski trip and plastic surgery are among the most unusual expense report requests , according to a study.

(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Most employees have, at some point, tried to sneak a fancy meal or an upgraded airline seat onto a work expense report.

But would you ever try to get your employer to pay for plastic surgery, a dog, taxidermy or a side of beef?

Those are a few of the examples of the most unusual expense report requests, based on a survey of 2,200 chief financial officers at U.S. companies conducted by the Robert Half Management Resources, a Menlo Park, Calif., consulting firm.

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And the crazy requests are on the rise. The survey found that 88% of the chief financial officers said the number of “inappropriate” expense report requests is either the same or increasing.

The list includes a ski trip, lottery tickets, rental homes, a spa day and a cruise.

The survey does not say if any of the unusual requests were approved, but Robert Half offers a few guidelines for determining if an expense is legitimate.

“If you paid for something that you couldn’t talk to a parent, grandparent or spouse about because you would be embarrassed, don’t try to expense it,” the report said.

To read more about travel, tourism and the airline industry, follow me on Twitter at @hugomartin.

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