Article
Going public: A path for success
An eight-step checklist to an IPO
Feb. 4, 2022
Going public. It’s a massive, transformational effort with the potential to enhance value and create new growth opportunities for your company. Successful organizations will engage in steps shown below in order navigate the risks and maximize the rewards in their initial public offering (IPO) journey.
- Develop an IPO plan and timeline
- Determine issuer and filing status
- Act like a public company pre-IPO
- Identify business process advisors
- Select an independent auditor
- Research insurance brokerages
- Develop investor relations and public relations teams
- Engage IPO advisors
- Evaluate existing legal counsel
- Assess tax advisory
- Select and engage with underwriters
- Include internal parties
- Assess updates to existing financial statements
- Ensure compliance with GAAP
- Perform materiality assessment (SAB 99)
- Assess timeliness of financial statements
- Consider need for compliance checklist
- Consider need to retrospectively change prior period statements or accelerate adoption
- Begin formalization of critical accounting policies
- Prepare and review Registration Statement Reporting
- Establish the board of directors, one which will compliment the business strategy, including diverse backgrounds and skills
- Establish the audit committee including one financial expert
- Assess existing technology
- Evaluate existing finance/accounting, information technology (IT), and tax teams and their capabilities
- Financial planning and analysis
- Ensure adequate levels of legal counsel and consider the need for a chief compliance officer
- Executive compensation and human resources
- Develop critical accounting policies and practices
- Build out corporate governance
- Assess internal audit requirements
- Identify and implement entity-level controls (ELC)
- Develop internal controls and prepare for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance
- Evaluate existing enterprise risk management (ERM) practices
- Hire investor relations officer or use an external consulting service
- Develop and share long-term business plan
- Target analysts and investors that could be long-term partners
- Prepare to sell your company’s story
- Prepare for Q&A dialogue during presentations
- Deliver on your promises made during the IPO process
- Understand required U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) forms and filings
- Develop a reporting calendar and financial close calendar
- Maintain compliance