Oscars to retain accounting firm; new safeguards will be in place

It was the “oops” heard ’round the world.

And today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced there will be safeguards in place to avoid a repeat of January’s Academy Award erroneous “best picture” announcement.

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In addition, according to the hollywoodreporter.com, the Academy is also “retaining the services of accounting firm PwC for the 90th ceremony.”

The new safeguards, according to the story, feature: “different accountants and protocols to safeguard against future embarrassments, including a third balloting leaders (who will sit with the telecast director) privy to the results who will be seated in the control room to ensure a more rapid response to mistakes in the future; and all accountants will have to check their electronic devices before going anywhere near the Oscars stage. And, moving forward, the Academy will regularly review PwC’s procedures and protocols to ensure that something like the “La La Land”/”Moonlight” debacle never occurs again.”

PwC, which has handled Oscar balloting and other academy business for 83 years, has claimed responsibility for the biggest mistake in Oscar history. Balloting partner Brian Cullinan tweeted a photo of Emma Stone backstage moments before handing presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway the wrong envelope for best picture. They announced “La La Land” as the winner, though “Moonlight” actually won.

Film academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs blamed Cullinan’s distraction for the error. PwC said that both he and partner Martha Ruiz failed to follow established protocols that night and did not act quickly enough to correct the error.

Traditionally, two PwC partners have overseen Oscar balloting and are the only two people who know the winners before they are announced live onstage. They’re stationed on opposite sides of the Dolby Theatre stage, each with an identical set of winners’ envelopes for the show’s 24 categories.

Contributing: Associated Press