Grouptalk #5: Academy Awards Attestation Planning
Your assignment is to design an attestation plan for the annual voting procedures of the Academy of Motion Pictures in selecting the Academy Award winners. The
Academy currently engages PricewaterhouseCoopers (hereafter PwC) to provide this attestation. To begin your research, I suggest that you familiarize yourselves with
the actual voting procedures utilized by the Academy and PwC.
Then, research the procedures performed by PwC. I searched the firm’s website, www.pwc.com, for Academy Awards and found several relevant documents.
Based on the Academy’s voting procedures, identify the process-level risks and the related controls. Then, relate each of PwC’s main procedures to these process-level
risks and/or control and describe them as either control tests, analytical procedures, or substantive tests.
Finally, try to identify weaknesses in the Academy’s and/or PwC’s procedures, and recommend improvements.
Your presentation should address the following issues:
1. Describe the Academy’s voting procedures
a. After nominees are announced Ballots are sent to each member of the academy (Can either vote electronically or with a paper ballot the choice is up to each
individual academy member.)
b. A small group of PWC employees count each vote by hand at a secret location
c. When voting with a paper ballot the academy member puts the ballot in an envelope that’s indicated with security codes
d. PWC makes sure each ballot they receive is legitimate by matching the code on it to its corresponding voting member
e. The voting takes place in multiple rooms with security and biometric locks as well as alarms set up to call LAPD if doors are left open for too long
f. Once the ballots are counted they are filed away for a few years and then shredded
g. The best picture is calculated slightly different than the others. It uses preferential voting with the members ranking the nominees. After figuring out which
nominee received the least amount of votes that one is taken out. They then look at which movie the voters who favorite was eliminated put second and the process
starts over again. This goes on until there are two movies left. The one with the most votes in that round eventually wins
h. Winner cards and envelopes are created for each nominee, these are then given to another person who puts the correct winner card in the envelope and shreds the
other ones. The winners are then put in a briefcase.
i. Two members of PWC travel to the awards with winner cards in two separate briefcases. To ensure security the two take a different route to the awards
j. The two never leave the briefcases and stand back stage with an LAPD escort and they hand the winner envelopes to the presenters right before they walk on
stage.
What are the process-level risks inherent in the procedures?
. The risk of false ballot
a. The risk the ballots and winner cards are tampered with or replaced
b. The risk the ballots or winner cards are stolen
Does the Academy have controls in place to address these risks? (The PWC attestation is a control, but assume this control is not in operation. If you cannot
identify any controls, you will obviously need to increase your substantive testing.)
a. Ballot security codes corresponding to the academy members is a control over the risk of false ballot
b. The security measures taken in the place of counting are controls over the risk of ballots and winner cards being tampered with or replaced
c. Shredding the unused winner cards is a control over the risk of ballots and winner cards being tampered with or replaced
d. The two separate brief cases and taking them on separate routes is a control over the risk of the ballots and winner cards being tampered with replaced or
stolen
e. The LAPD security and only giving the card right before the presenter goes on stage is a control over the tampered with or replaced ballots as well as the
cards being stolen
Does PwC rely on these controls? What control tests do they perform? Do you recommend additional control tests?
Answer:
How do PwC’s attest procedures assess the uncontrolled risks? Identify the specific substantive tests that they perform. Do you recommend additional
substantive tests?
Answer: