--- title: PwC Blames Accountant For the Oscars Best Picture Mix-Up description: PwC says their own accountant not only caused the problem, he didn’t act quickly enough to correct it. canonical: https://time.com/4685162/pricewaterhousecoopers-oscars-mix-up-best-picture/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-28T04:31:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:18:34.216Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: PwC Blames Accountant For The Oscars Best Picture Mix-Up og:description: PwC says their own accountant not only caused the problem, he didn’t act quickly enough to correct it. og:url: https://time.com/4685162/pricewaterhousecoopers-oscars-mix-up-best-picture/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6678f076ef7ce1a4/6988bc4bab6d776c566ad061/gettyimages-645749946.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: ABC's Coverage Of The 89th Annual Academy Awards og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: PwC Blames Accountant For The Oscars Best Picture Mix-Up twitter:description: PwC says their own accountant not only caused the problem, he didn’t act quickly enough to correct it. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6678f076ef7ce1a4/6988bc4bab6d776c566ad061/gettyimages-645749946.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # PwC Blames Their Accountant For the Oscars Best Picture Mix-Up > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. Ally is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Ally: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Ally is a digital financial services company offering online-only banking, including checking and savings accounts, through Ally.com and its mobile apps. Launched in 2009 as an original disruptor in financial services, Ally was built to challenge outdated banking norms with a simpler, more convenient way to bank. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: La La Land Thought They Won Best Picture. They Didn't. [Watch (HLS stream): La La Land Thought They Won Best Picture. They Didn't.](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/B1ZPuS5Y.m3u8) (0:45)  _Published 2017-02-27. Moonlight was, in fact, Best Picture_ by [Daniel Goldblatt / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Daniel Goldblatt / People Contributor Feb 28, 2017 4:31 AM UTC Moonlight was, in fact, Best Picture by [Daniel Goldblatt / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Daniel Goldblatt / People Contributor Feb 28, 2017 4:31 AM UTC PricewaterhouseCoopers is once again apologizing for Envelopegate and says [their own accountant not only caused the problem](http://people.com/awards/oscars-2017-envelopes-best-picture-mix-up/), he didn’t act quickly enough to correct it. In a statement released on their Twitter page, the company said, “PwC takes full responsibility for the series of mistakes and breaches of established protocols during last night’s Oscars. PwC Partner Brian Cullinan mistakenly handed the back-up envelope for Actress in a Leading Role instead of the envelope for Best Picture to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.” They added, “Once the error occurred, protocols for correcting it were not followed through quickly enough by Mr. Cullinan or his partner.” The company also apologized not just to the folks behind _Moonlight_ and _La La Land_, but to “Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and the Academy, none of whom was at fault for last night’s errors.” They concluded by saying, “We wish to extend our deepest gratitude to each of them for the graciousness they displayed during such a difficult moment. For the past 83 years, the Academy has entrusted PwC with the integrity of the awards process during the ceremony, and last night we failed the Academy.” Tim Ryan, U.S. chairman and senior partner at PwC, says he has spoken at length with Cullinan about the incident, saying, “He feels very, very terrible and horrible. He is very upset about this mistake. And it is also my mistake, our mistake, and we all feel very bad,” Ryan told [Variety](http://variety.com/2017/film/news/oscars-best-picture-mistake-brian-cullinan-pricewaterhousecoopers-wrong-pile-1201998091/). According to [Deadline](http://deadline.com/2017/02/oscars-best-picture-mistake-pwc-executive-cancels-anderson-cooper-appearance-academy-1202020008/), a PwC exec was scheduled to appear on _Anderson Cooper 360_ on Monday night, but canceled just before the show. _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/awards/oscars-2017-envelopegate/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4685162/pricewaterhousecoopers-oscars-mix-up-best-picture/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4685162/pricewaterhousecoopers-oscars-mix-up-best-picture/"},"headline":"PwC Blames Their Accountant For the Oscars Best Picture Mix-Up","datePublished":"2017-02-28T04:31:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T07:18:34.216Z","description":"PwC says their own accountant not only caused the problem, he didn’t act quickly enough to correct it.","url":"https://time.com/4685162/pricewaterhousecoopers-oscars-mix-up-best-picture/","keywords":["awards","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6678f076ef7ce1a4/6988bc4bab6d776c566ad061/gettyimages-645749946.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel Goldblatt / People"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6678f076ef7ce1a4/6988bc4bab6d776c566ad061/gettyimages-645749946.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ABC's Coverage Of The 89th Annual Academy Awards","caption":"ABC's Coverage Of The 89th Annual Academy Awards","creditText":"Eddy Chen—Image Group LA/ABC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/awards/","name":"awards"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4685162/pricewaterhousecoopers-oscars-mix-up-best-picture/","name":"PwC Blames Their Accountant For the Oscars Best Picture Mix-Up"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"La La Land Thought They Won Best Picture. 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