Taking your business public requires a great deal of preparation. After all, publicly held companies are subject to a different set of standards than private companies. To prepare, you’ll need to address issues across the organization and make changes so you’re ready to operate in the public markets.
As any publicly traded company will attest, the initial public offering process is complicated. Operating in the public markets requires focusing on key business areas, using robust tools, and adopting new methodologies.
A typical initial public offering (IPO) can take 12 to 18 months to execute. During this time, there are many areas of your business that will likely need to transform to ensure that your organization is ready to operate in the public markets. This process is extremely time- and resource-intensive. The most important steps in this process are ensuring your equity story is quantifiable and supportable and that your financial reporting is ready for external auditor and public market scrutiny. In addition, it’s necessary to look holistically at your business to make certain that all critical functions are prepared to support public company compliance requirements.
An IPO readiness assessment is an effective first step to understanding where to focus your time and resources. This assessment is a high-level analysis to identify gaps, areas for improvement, and actionable items to consider.
