Public offerings offer private companies with a lot of opportunities for expansion, but it also exposes to regulations and rules they were not required adhere to when they were private businesses. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of the risks and obstacles they could face prior to making the move to public markets.

If you are contemplating an IPO for your business or not, creating a checklist of best practices is the initial step in ensuring that you are prepared. A checklist for an IPO must cover everything from stakeholder alignment and due diligence to the collection and analysis of financial data. A thorough checklist will allow you to identify and close the gaps between where your company is and where it ought to be prior to you ring the IPO bell.

If you’re considering going public it’s best to consult an experienced tax professional to ensure you’re aware of the various forms of equity compensations that could impact your tax bill, and prepare in accordance with the tax implications. If you have made an 83b) decision, you could have a substantial increase in your taxable ordinary income if you go public. If you’re an owner of incentive stock option (ISOs) it is important to consider the possibility that you’ll be subject to an alternative minimum tax.

A checklist for preparing an IPO must also provide guidance around the compliance requirements of regulatory compliance that come with an IPO which includes the Securities How to use digital data room for business deals and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) registration and disclosure rules. Your ipo preparation checklist should also include the required steps for preparing and filing your Draft Registration Statement/ S-1, including submission of both EDGAR and iXBRL instances files.