At first glance the expenses claims of top BBC executives would raise few eyebrows in the senior echelons of companies in the private sector. The lunches, hotel stays and endless appetite for taxis is part of the quotidian life of senior executives.

But closer examination reveals some unusual patterns at the BBC. First, there is what might be called the luvvie factor. Bouquets on expenses, not to mention bottles of champagne and stays at hotels in Beverly Hills are plentiful.

They might not be unusual for board-level executives in large media companies, but financial controllers at a Midlands metal-basher would doubtless start asking awkward questions if confronted with repeated claims of such a nature.

Second, there is the occasional more questionable judgment, such as paying Jana Bennett, the director in charge of television, £500 in part-compensation after her handbag was stolen while off the premises.

This was claimed on a BBC insurance policy, but in the private sector, such a claim from a junior employee would stand little chance of success. Higher up the corporate ladder, different rules apply. Responsibility for the pay and expenses of main board directors rests with the remuneration committee of non-executive directors. Here, there tends to be much wider latitude to exercise discretion. Even so, non-execs are wary of setting a costly precedent.

Thirdly, there are many examples of entertainment of executives in private sector companies. It is this that looks most curious. Unlike the BBC, private sector companies have two key constituents who have to be constantly wooed and therefore lunched — their customers and their shareholders. To all intents and purposes the BBC has neither. Bankrolled by licence fee payers, it has no advertisers to schmooze and no City institutions to keep sweet. Instead, it seems to have got into the habit of entertaining its own suppliers — companies that would normally expect to pick up the tab on such occasions.

Executives at Xansa, the outsourcing company, were given a £646 meal. A meal for Infosys, the technology consultants, cost £744. Deloitte, the accounting firm, was treated to a £703 “thank you dinner”. Staff at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accountants, were stood a £746 meal.

Zarin Patel, the BBC’s chief financial officer, even claimed for a £318 dinner given to the BBC’s own auditor KPMG — a firm that is paid £2 million in audit and other fees from the corporation each year.

Officials using public money rightly need to be careful about accepting entertainment from potential suppliers. Even so, the willingness of the BBC to pick up the tab looks odd.

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