"NOT ADVANCED MATH"

Brand management experts said it could take years forPricewaterhouseCoopers to recover.

"This is not advanced math. PwC had to get the right name inthe right envelope and get it to the right person," said TimCalkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University,calling the blunder a "bit of a branding tragedy."

Under a PwC procedure, just two accountants know the namesof the 24 winners after their names are placed in two sets ofsealed envelopes. The two accountants also memorize the winningnames.

Tradition has it that the envelopes are taken separately intwo briefcases to the Academy Awards venue. The two accountants- in this case Cullinan and Martha Ruiz - are driven thereseparately, in case of an accident or traffic delays.

The pair then stand off stage at opposite sides and handenvelopes to the respective presenters as each category isannounced.

Last week, Cullinan told the Huffington Post the procedurefor dealing with the hand-off of an incorrect envelope, otherthan signaling to a stage manager, was unclear.

"It's so unlikely," Cullinan added.

The error was corrected quickly, although precious minutespassed, said Anthony Sabino, a law professor at St John'sUniversity in New York.

"It's not as if we woke up this morning, or if it had beenuncovered after the telecast was over. That would have reallyhave been a black eye," he added.

Compared to accounting fraud at other companies in the past,"this incident diminished vastly to a vanishing point," Sabinosaid.

The "Moonlight" filmmakers were gracious about the error.

Director Barry Jenkins told reporters backstage that hereceived no immediate explanation for the mix-up, though "itmade a very special feeling even more special, but not in theway I expected."

Jenkins added, "Please write this down: The folks from 'LaLa Land' were so gracious."

Reuters