IPO Preparation Checklist

An IPO provides private companies with powerful growth opportunities but it also exposes them to rules and regulations they weren’t required to follow as a private business. It is therefore crucial that companies are aware of all the risks and challenges they could face prior to taking the plunge into public markets.

If you are thinking about an IPO for your company or not, creating an inventory of best practices is the initial step to ensure that you are well-prepared. An ipo preparation checklist should include everything from due diligence to stakeholder alignment to the gathering and analysis of financial designdataroom.com data. A thorough checklist allows you to pinpoint and close the gaps in your company’s condition and where it should be prior to ringing the IPO bell.

It’s a good idea consult a tax professional when you are planning to go public. This will help you understand the different kinds of equity compensation and how they affect your tax bill. You can then plan according to the information you have learned. If you have made an 83b) choice, you could have a substantial increase in your taxable ordinary income when you go public. If you have incentive stock options (ISOs) then you must plan for the possibility of being be subject to an alternative minimum tax.

An ipo preparation checklist should also provide information regarding the compliance requirements of regulatory compliance that come with an IPO and should include the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) registration and disclosure rules. The checklist for preparing your IPO should also include the required steps to prepare and file your Draft Registration Statement/ S-1, including submission of both EDGAR and iXBRL instance files.