Instead of the envelope containing the winner for best picture, Mr. Cullinan accidentally handed Mr. Beatty a duplicate
of the envelope for best actress — an award Emma Stone had accepted for her role in “La La Land” just moments before.
“The accountants have one job to do — that’s to give Warren Beatty the right envelope,” Leslie Moonves,
the chief executive of CBS, said in a videotaped interview after the show, which was broadcast on ABC.
One video posted there, introducing Mr. Cullinan and Ms. Ruiz, began with the line, “The reason we were even first asked to take on this role was because of the reputation PwC has in the marketplace for being a firm of integrity, of accuracy and confidentiality.” It went on to note
that the relationship was “symbolic of how we’re thought of beyond this role and how our clients think of us
According to Mr. Ryan and others briefed on the process, a PwC partner, Brian Cullinan, handed Mr. Beatty the wrong envelope.
“I knew something was up,” he said in a telephone interview on Monday, zeroing in on the discordant
moment when he noticed two of his employees interrupting the best picture acceptance speeches.
As celebrities and guests hit the town for celebrations, Mr. Ryan spent the hours after the awards
show speaking with Mr. Cullinan, Ms. Ruiz, members of the Academy and the show’s producers.