The recent economic environment has been tough for the capital markets, making all sources of capital increasingly difficult for companies to access. While there has been a recent uptick in the IPO market in the United States following one of the worst IPO droughts in decades, bank lending has declined and venture capital remains hard to secure.

Companies with IPO aspirations are advised to run as if they were already public in order to be ready to strike when the market begins to recover. In this issue, we focus on the IPO preparation process, including the need for a readiness assessment along with specific areas management should address – common financial reporting challenges, the close process, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance and the IT infrastructure.