An IPO is one of the most significant milestones in the development of a tech business and symbolizes value for founders, employees, and customers. But it also imposes the company with a new set of rules, regulations, and standards that the company may not have had to adhere to as a private enterprise. The most important thing to do is be prepared and that begins with a thorough ipo preparation checklist.
The first step is to have an efficient system that enables the company to keep an uncluttered financial report that can stand against the scrutiny of regulators and shareholders. This is a top priority for the CFO team and should be addressed well before the IPO timeline. This usually means creating an automated reconciliation procedure to eliminate manual errors in the data, as well as ensuring that the company is in line in achieving IFRS and US GAAP compliance, and setting up the necessary committees for the board, such as the audit special finance, compensation, and audit.
A solid management team is also important. They will be able manage the growth plans for the company once it goes public. This is usually the most important non-financial aspect to take into account when preparing an IPO. Investors want to see an experienced leadership team with demonstrated experience.
In the end, an IPO readiness evaluation should be conducted by an experienced advisor and/or auditor to determine the condition of internal controls accounting practices, financial controls, and other issues that need to be rectified prior to the IPO can take place. The assessment should be carried out at the beginning of the IPO to allow for any issues to be addressed before they are reported to investors or the SEC.
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