The Corporate Scandal started when, during Sunday's Oscars 2017 ceremony, actors Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announced La La Land as the Best Picture winner. Except it wasn't – the true winner was Moonlight, and the actors had been given the wrong envelope by tabulators PwC.
PwC eventually rectified the mistake and apologized to Batty, Dunaway, the movies involved and the viewers, but an explanation for the mistake still hasn't been given.
In a statement, they explained that they deeply regret what happened, and that investigation is taking place to find out what went wrong.
PwC attempts to avoid a corporate scandal
Before the show went on the air, PwC's director of global communications, Mike Davies, spoke about how the firm prides itself in how well and consistently it has handled the Academy Awards ballots.
However, after the incident happened, PwC itself admitted that once the error happened, the protocols to correct it weren't followed quickly enough.
The only other time a mistake like this happened during the Academy Awards was in 1964, when Sammy Davis received the wrong envelope for Best Music Score, but the correction at that time was quick, while it took PwC a full two minutes to fix the mistake they made last Sunday.
Chaos onstage, calm backstage
According to Matt Sayles, a freelance photographer for the Associate Press, what happened backstage during the mix-up was not reflected on the podium and says that while chaos reigned on-stage within minutes, in the backstage everyone knew something was wrong and were working to correct it.
However, he adds that the mistake had its unfortunate consequences, such as a lukewarm reception once the real winner, Moonlight, was announced.
Nigel Currie, a London-based independent branding specialist, was less forgiving, calling it a spectacular mess-up that would lead to deep crisis talks on how to deal with the situation.
Another observer also stated that PwC is scrambling now.
A mistake that cannot happen twice
Jeremy Robinson-Leon from public relations firm Group Gordon, made it clear that the situation would have consequences, but that there might be forgiveness... as long as it doesn't happen again.
He calls the fallout of the mistake minimal as long as it is an isolated incident, but if it repeats, the following corporate scandal might have a serious impact on PwC's brand.