--- title: Oscars 2017: PwC Accountants Behind Mix-Up Won't Return description: The two PwC accountants responsible for the Oscars Best Picture mishap won't return to the Academy Awards canonical: https://time.com/4687744/the-accountants-responsible-for-the-best-picture-mishap-wont-be-allowed-to-work-the-oscars-again/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-01T22:15:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:36:38.296Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Accountants Responsible for Best Picture Mishap Won't Be Back At Oscars og:description: The accountants who botched the Best Picture presentation will not be working the ceremony again og:url: https://time.com/4687744/the-accountants-responsible-for-the-best-picture-mishap-wont-be-allowed-to-work-the-oscars-again/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt978c9ba1e733d2db/6988bca48fd2ee5238355fe5/la-la-land-moonlight-mix-up1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-OSCARS-SHOW og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Accountants Responsible for Best Picture Mishap Won't Be Back At Oscars twitter:description: The accountants who botched the Best Picture presentation will not be working the ceremony again twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt978c9ba1e733d2db/6988bca48fd2ee5238355fe5/la-la-land-moonlight-mix-up1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Accountants Responsible for Best Picture Mishap Won't Be Working Oscars Again > Sponsored content. 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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.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Mar 1, 2017 10:15 PM UTC  La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz clears up the misunderstanding at the Oscars on Feb, 26, 2017, in Hollywood La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz clears up the misunderstanding at the Oscars on Feb, 26, 2017, in HollywoodMark Ralston —AFP/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Mar 1, 2017 10:15 PM UTC The two PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants who botched the Best Picture award presentation at the [Oscars](http://fortune.com/2017/03/01/oscars-pwc-mistake-moonlight/) will not be working the award show again, [the Associated Press reports](http://apne.ws/2lXIkG3). Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said both Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz, the two PwC accounts responsible for mixing up [_La La Land_](http://time.com/4686358/oscars-pwc-relationship-review/) with _Moonlight_ for Best Picture, will no longer be involved with the Oscars in any way. Ruiz and Cullinan were responsible for counting the ballots prior to the show and then handing the envelopes containing the winners for each award to the presenters. Cullinan accidentally handed actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway [the wrong envelope for Best Picture](http://time.com/4684973/oscars-wrong-best-picture-explanation/?iid=sr-link3), instead giving them the card for Best Actress, which was awarded to Emma Stone for her performance in _La La Land_. Boone Isaacs cited Cullinan’s “distraction” of tweeting a photo of Stone just minutes before the flub as the reason for the error, according to AP. The mistake caused chaos on stage. Producers from _La La Land_ were interrupted in the middle of their acceptance speeches to learn that their film hadn’t won the award as _Moonlight_‘s cast made their way to the stage. Boone Isaacs added that the drama surrounding the biggest award of the night distracted from “the most brilliant and wonderful show.” Her remarks to AP are the first she has made since the confusion Sunday. She also told AP that the Academy’s relationship with PwC is under review. Cullinan has been part of the Oscar-counting process since 2014\. Just before his first giving out the sealed envelopes that year, [he told TIME](http://time.com/10318/oscars-pricewaterhousecoopers/) that it was an honor to be a part of PwC’s Oscar team. “Especially for those who aren’t in the business world, \[the Oscars are\] what we’re known for,” Cullinan said. “To be asked to do it is probably, as an accountant, as much fun as you can have.” Oscars 2017: PwC Accountants Behind Mix-Up Won't Return ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4687744/the-accountants-responsible-for-the-best-picture-mishap-wont-be-allowed-to-work-the-oscars-again/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4687744/the-accountants-responsible-for-the-best-picture-mishap-wont-be-allowed-to-work-the-oscars-again/"},"headline":"Accountants Responsible for Best Picture Mishap Won't Be Working Oscars Again","datePublished":"2017-03-01T22:15:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:36:38.296Z","description":"The two PwC accountants responsible for the Oscars Best Picture mishap won't return to the Academy Awards","url":"https://time.com/4687744/the-accountants-responsible-for-the-best-picture-mishap-wont-be-allowed-to-work-the-oscars-again/","keywords":["Oscars","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt978c9ba1e733d2db/6988bca48fd2ee5238355fe5/la-la-land-moonlight-mix-up1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt978c9ba1e733d2db/6988bca48fd2ee5238355fe5/la-la-land-moonlight-mix-up1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-OSCARS-SHOW","caption":"US-OSCARS-SHOW","creditText":"Mark Ralston —AFP/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/oscars/","name":"Oscars"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4687744/the-accountants-responsible-for-the-best-picture-mishap-wont-be-allowed-to-work-the-oscars-again/","name":"Accountants Responsible for Best Picture Mishap Won't Be Working Oscars Again"}}]}] ```