PwC auditors will not work with the awards again, Academy president says

The president of the American film Academy has said the two accountants responsible for the best picture mix-up at Sunday's award ceremony will not work at the Oscars again.

Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz were the two PwC auditors privy to the Academy votes and responsible for the presenters' envelopes.

Mr Cullinan handed Warren Beatty the wrong best picture envelope during Sunday night's ceremony, leading to La La Land incorrectly being announced as the winner rather than Moonlight.

Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the Academy president, said this week that neither would be renewing their Oscars role next year. PwC has counted Oscars votes successfully for 83 years.

She said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' relationship with PwC, the accounting firm responsible for the integrity of the awards, remains under review.

Beatty had earlier urged the organisers of the Oscars to "publicly clarify" the reasons for the envelope mix-up.

The veteran actor, who presented the award alongside his Bonnie And Clyde co-star Faye Dunaway, was given the card for actress in a leading role rather than the best picture winner.

Declining to speak out further on the debacle, Beatty said: "I feel it would be more appropriate for the president of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, to publicly clarify what happened as soon as possible."

Tim Ryan, US chairman and senior partner at PwC, told Variety magazine that Cullinan gave Beatty the wrong envelope as the Hollywood star took to the stage with Dunaway.

"There's a stack for the back-ups and the ones that are not the back-ups and he took from the wrong stack," he said.

Mr Ryan told the magazine Mr Cullinan, chairman of PwC's US board, was left feeling "very, very terrible and horrible" and repeated the firm's apologies for the historic mix-up.