Stuff Accountants Like

As a professional pastime, accountants are experts at claiming expenses. This practice has also been called expensing it, charging it, running it through, and so on. Accountants call it whatever they want since it’s a perk of the job, though the IRS doesn’t need to know that.

Here’s how it works:
1.) Buy something possibly work related
2.) Claim it as an incurred, necessary expense
3.) Profit!

Accountants, as you can imagine, have claimed or tried to claim pretty much everything over the history of time. Legitimate claims include meals, mileage, office supplies, airline tickets, recruiting, etc.

Accountants are so good at this pastime of theirs that everything gets upgraded and overspent. Meals become full course feasts with enough extras to take home for days. Airline tickets involve upgraded seats and extra luggage. Recruiting is a special circumstance since there is no limit to spending and any fixed “budget” is merely a suggestion. Recruiting says $50 per person and the accountant knocked the bill out of the ballpark? No problem.

Note that the above examples are only a fraction of what gets run through and claimed as expenses. There is no limit really to what qualifies. Cell phone data plans, professional publications, rental car upgrades, and bar tabs are only the tip of the iceberg for claimed expenses.

Of course in this economy, all companies are trying to reduce costs and survive. The reality is that companies with big egos need to maintain an expensive image to recruit future accountants, who work and claim outrageous expenses.

All you need to know is that if an accountant offers to “run it through” during your lunch, you should feel free to order whatever you want and maybe the dessert as well. The accountant won’t care, you don’t care, and the Company paying for it doesn’t care since it’s immaterial.

Tags: #16, Charge it, Claiming Expenses, Expense, Expenses, Expensing it, Run it