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As the gold standard of awards prepares to celebrate its diamond anniversary on March 23rd, the international accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers has again been selected to oversee the tabulation of Oscar® votes for Hollywood's biggest night, the 75th Anniversary Academy Awards. This will be the firm's 69th year safeguarding the results that the entertainment industry and movie fans everywhere are anxious to discover.


The low-tech, labor-intensive method for correctly tallying the Academy Awards count has changed little since its implementation in 1935. "Our tried-and-true system has relied on absolute secrecy, checking and double-checking, to make sure we give the Academy the accurate, independent count they expect," explained Greg Garrison, lead ballot partner from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Co-balloting partner, Rick Rosas, will join Garrison again. This year marks Rosas' sophomore outing as a ballot partner, and he remains only the 11th PricewaterhouseCoopers partner in nearly seven decades to work on this top-secret assignment. The two partners oversee the closely guarded Academy Awards tabulation process, which culminates with their appearance at the Oscars®. They will provide presenters with sealed envelopes containing the winners at the ceremony, set for Sunday, March 23rd, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland®.

"We remain extremely proud of our involvement in the balloting process and, more important, of the more than seven decades working with the Academy," Garrison said. "This relationship is a cornerstone of our global Entertainment & Media Practice, as it illustrates our deep involvement in and commitment to the industry."

Senior Partner Garrison, 49, has been with the firm for 27 years and leads the firm's Assurance and Business Advisory Services Practice. This is his eighth year on the ballot team.

Rosas, 38, a tax specialist, has been serving the PricewaterhouseCoopers Entertainment & Media Practice since 1996, including more than six years spent working with the Academy. Based in Century City, he joined the ballot team last year.

"It is an honor for our firm to maintain the integrity of this important tradition, and I speak for all of my colleagues when I congratulate our client on 75 years of the Academy Awards," Rosas said. "The Oscars are the industry's most respected award, and our job at PricewaterhouseCoopers is to ensure that the professionalism, accuracy and confidentiality that makes it so is uninterrupted."

What Counts in the Balloting

PricewaterhouseCoopers manages the Oscar balloting at the direction of the Academy, including mailing the ballots to eligible members; manually tabulating the ballots in accordance with the Academy's rules; and maintaining the secrecy of the winners until they are announced during the Awards show.

Academy members select the nominees in their respective branches, with the exception of the Best Picture category, for which all eligible members may vote. The nominated achievements are tabulated by the preferential system whereby each voting member votes for films and individual achievements in the order of his or her personal preference.

The Academy's entire active and life membership of more than 5,800 is eligible to select the final winners in all categories. Tabulations for the final balloting are made according to the plurality system -- the winner is simply the nominee receiving the most votes.

The ballots are tabulated at an undisclosed location to which only a small PricewaterhouseCoopers team has access. Ballots and tabulation materials are kept in a locked safe. Just before determining the winners, Garrison and Rosas, behind locked doors, are provided with a complete set of nominees typed onto individual cards. This ensures that only the two partners know the results. They place the name of the winning nominee from each category in special foil-lined envelopes that are immediately sealed. As a precautionary measure, two complete sets of envelopes will be prepared and hand-carried by Garrison and Rosas to the ceremony -- under armed guard, via separate, secret routes.

During the live telecast, the two PricewaterhouseCoopers partners remain backstage and physically hand the envelopes to the presenters of the various awards just moments before their introduction and presentation. As a final precautionary measure, Garrison and Rosas will also memorize the winners ... just in case.

"It is an intricate process, the outcomes of which are greatly anticipated by literally hundreds of millions of people," Garrison said. "We are meticulous about ensuring the secrecy and accuracy of these important results."

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