LOS ANGELES: After taking responsibility for the epic best picture flub at the Oscars last year, Tim Ryan of auditing firm PwC got down to business.

He grilled the partners who made the gaffe, then personally reached out to the dozens of people affected by it: the show’s producers, presenters and stage managers, as well as the filmmakers behind La La Land and Moonlight.

In the months that followed, PwC met with the academy many times to come up with new protocols and safeguards to prevent such a blunder in the future. Ryan, PwC’s US chairman and senior partner, revealed six new reforms, including a new process in which the celebrity presenter will confirm they have the correct envelope before stepping onstage, PwC partners attending rehearsals, as well as measures to quickly correct any mistake.

Last year’s mistake happened when a PwC partner mistakenly handed an envelope for the best actress winner category, which went to Emma Stone in La La Land, to the presenters of the best picture category, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018