This document includes the six elements of infrastructure focused on an organization’s public company readiness process.

The six elements of infrastructure is a useful tool for categorizing issues, understanding where problems are occurring within the organization, and drawing conclusions to form the basis for recommendations. Consider these elements when designing a new process or assessing an existing process. This example focuses on aspects of an initial public offering (IPO). The market presents unprecedented challenges and difficulties, provides opportunities for companies to take a step back and revisit their long-term strategic goals against the current environment.

Questions to consider when it comes to business policies include:

• Is the finance function strategy linked to the business strategy?
• Are all appropriate business policies documented?
• Have we clearly defined the lines between finance, IT and other functional units?
• Do we have appropriate IT policies?
• Are overall governance charters and board policies in place?