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Oscars screw-up: Accountants behind mistake assigned bodyguards

PwC has taken responsibility for the unprecedented error.

A SPOKESWOMAN FOR the PwC auditing firm says the company has hired protection for the two accountants responsible for the best-picture screw-up at the Oscars.

Carey Bodenheimer said the firm was providing security to Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz.

They are the accountants who were dismissed by the Academy earlier this week for mishandling the winners’ envelopes at Sunday’s awards.

Bodenheimer said PwC hired security for the two partners after their home addresses and photos of their family members were published in the media.

PwC has taken responsibility for the unprecedented error that led to La La Land mistakenly announced as the winner of best picture when Moonlight actually won.

The company said Cullinan and Ruiz made “a series of mistakes” and failed to follow established backstage protocols.

President email 

Separately, the president of the film academy has sent an email to members telling them they have much to be proud of after this year’s Oscars ceremony, and reassuring them changes will be made to avoid a repeat of such problems.

In it, academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs calls Sunday’s show “one of the best — and certainly most dramatic and talked about — Oscar ceremonies of all time” giving a subtle nod to the best picture mix-up.

Isaacs goes on to give a set of bullet-pointed items she says the academy — a group of about 6,000 people from the film industry who vote for the Oscars — should be proud of.

They include the “impeccable and effortless hosting job by Jimmy Kimmel,” the “electric opening number” from Justin Timberlake, and the tribute to Katherine Johnson, one of the real-life women who inspired “Hidden Figures”.

She then addresses the end-of-show blunder and PwC.

“By now, thanks to the non-stop coverage the past few days, we all know that the wrong envelope and the problems that ensued were caused by the failure of PwC’s accountants to follow established protocols and their delay in immediately remedying the situation,” Isaacs said.

Rest assured changes will be implemented to ensure this never happens again.

Read: Counting under way in the North – as possible return to direct rule looms >

Read: Severe downpours: The weekend weather forecast isn’t particularly good >

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39 Comments
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    Mute Tony Skillington
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:08 AM

    Bordering on farce at this stage..a simple mistake at a posh prize giving ceremony and now there’s a need for body guards? Hollywood showing its real class.

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    Mute Markonline
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:23 AM

    Threw the lads out under the bus to save their skins, greedy cowards.

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    Mute Colman McGrath
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:35 AM

    Seriously….65 Elite bankers in Spain are jailed four days ago for one of the biggest banking scandals…not an absolute tap. !!! A screw up at the Oscars and you can’t keep it out of the headlines !!! We need to stop reading MSM…load of BS.

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    Mute Censored
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:03 AM

    The plight of 1%ers is very real.

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    Mute Mel Fitzpatrick
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:07 AM

    Security? For making that mistake!? Hahahhahahahaha… MURICA YEAHHH!

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    Mute Eileen Nolan
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:27 AM

    Media published their addresses and photos of family members! Why?

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    Mute niall
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:01 AM

    Ridiculous

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    Mute Paulo mclawlor
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:22 AM

    Off with their heads…..

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    Mute Watchful Axe
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 4:06 PM

    ….now where’s that coke.

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    Mute Marty Borgnine
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:20 AM

    It’s a liability issue. If either of these two happen to be assaulted, or otherwise harmed, as a result of this whole fiasco I would imagine that the company could be sued. PWC themselves quickly identified them and it placed the sharp end of the spotlight on the individual rather than the company.

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    Mute Paul
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:29 AM

    @Marty Borgnine: yup PwC hung em out to dry. Poor lads careers in ruins too. They’re envelope handling days are done.

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    Mute john g mcgrath
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 9:27 AM

    Not yet still plenty of envelopes being given out in Ireland !!

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    Mute Paudge Mc Grath
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 11:03 AM

    What a load of old shit!!

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    Mute Cheryl Mellett
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:17 AM

    First world problems. They really need to take a step back and look at how blown out of proportion this all is.

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    Mute Who's Yer Man
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:26 AM

    @Cheryl Mellett: Haha, Hollywood and blown out of proportion belong in the same sentence in fairness.

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    Mute Cheryl Mellett
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 11:30 AM

    Very true….. with all that is going on in the world the mayhem over this seems so ridiculous. They will probably turn it into a blockbuster movie lol

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    Mute Who's Yer Man
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 11:38 AM

    @Cheryl Mellett: HAHA. I can’t wait. A 4-hour Oliver Stone epic about an envelope mix-up. I hope they do really arty shots of the facial expressions of every single person in attendance, and the deep thoughts that went through everyone’s mind when it was announced there was a mistake. I want to relive it. If I were you, I’d getting working on the screenplay immediately. Right this minute.

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    Mute Cheryl Mellett
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 11:51 AM

    They will throw in a conspiracy theory and the death penalty for whoever is responsible and use the music score from an old hitchcock movie to add to the drama :-)

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    Mute Donal Proctor
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:14 AM

    Their really trying to eek as many stories out of this as possible. Ffs.

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    Mute Who's Yer Man
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:24 AM

    @Donal Proctor: my cynical thoughts exactly. There’ll be pointless stories around this for the next week. Next, it’ll be “what the people who made the Oscars blunder had for breakfast that morning. It will shock you.”

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    Mute George Roche
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:12 AM

    You’d think they were a Colombian soccer team that messed up a penalty shoot out.

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    Mute Declan Moran
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:41 AM

    And I thought Affleck was mad to release a film about an accountant, man’s a genius

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    Mute Daniel R
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:18 AM

    Kevin Costner’s ears must be perked #Bodyguard2

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    Mute EdmundOrlando
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:27 AM

    I’m surprised they haven’t been deported.

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    Mute Sarah Clifford
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:30 AM

    This whole thing smacks of a fake publicity stunt at this stage

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    Mute James Xenophon
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:36 AM

    @Sarah Clifford: Given the incalculable damage done to PriceWaterhouseCooper’s reputation, that seems unlikely.

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    Mute Who's Yer Man
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 11:39 AM

    @James Xenophon: PWC should be able to calculate it, above all else, they are an accountancy firm.

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    Mute Gavin Redmond
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:21 AM

    PWC have made some major f@@K up’s in the past and this is what there been held accountable for. (First world problem’s)

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:27 AM

    Hilarious

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    Mute Les Behan
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 9:54 AM

    This never would have happened if Hillary was elected!

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    Mute Kevin Geraghty
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 9:14 AM

    Ryan Gosling has put out a hit on him. So I’ve heard.

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    Mute Paul Mc Manus
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 8:13 AM

    Ffssssssss…. Crazy effed up country.

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    Mute Slim Browne
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 2:50 PM

    If u wanna learn how to handle envelopes properly come on over to the land of saints and scholars and we’ll teach u all u need to know.

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    Mute Mike Holmes
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 1:02 PM

    Just shows how out of ideas the US film industry is. Remakes animations of remakes and musicals that have voice over.Collapsed in the Reagan era after 100 years. No originality award goes too…the lot of them and their XBox films.

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    Mute Linda Hughes
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 2:07 PM

    Really? good god no one died . Get over it

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    Mute HoneyBadger617
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 9:56 AM

    Its the movies noting is as it seems.

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    Mute Jane
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    Mar 3rd 2017, 4:32 PM

    What a joke! To err is human! Nobody cares that much about it.

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