Did you know that 2 accountants were the people responsible to determine the winners of the Oscars? Many people are surprised to hear that an accountant would be involved, and it actually takes two to make sure the results are calculated accurately. These two people, Brian Cullinan and Rick Rosas, had a very unique job, and they were the only two people who knew the results in advance.
Why Accountants Help Determine the Winners
There is a specific reason why accountants have the perfect skill set to determine the winners of the Academy Awards: because it is a process of tallying and counting votes in order to determine the winner. The CPAs were chosen to complete one task, which was to count each of the votes as it comes in. This process can continue for months, and the final tallying takes about a week.
One of the critical aspects of this job is to make sure that the information is kept confidential, because the results can’t be leaked before the Oscars are held live. Even though the information is highly sought after, the CPAs are hired to keep their mouths shut. They did a great job to hold the winning information in silence before the awards show.
How to Keep the Oscars Results a Secret
There is a specific system that the accountants follow to make sure the results aren’t leaked early. The process starts with the two accountants, plus an additional six other people. The ballots are split in a way so that each individual is counting a section of the categories, but they aren’t counting a whole category. The subtotals are then provided to the accountants Cullinan and Rosas, who figure out the totals. Everything is done by hand, and the results are counted multiple times to ensure accuracy.
Once the totals are calculated, the two CPAs put the winner into a sealed envelope, and the losing cards are destroyed. There are actually two sets of winning cards that are assembled for the show. Each card is handed to the presenter as they go on stage to make the announcement.