Page 64 - Initial Public Offering - An Introduction to IPO on Wall Street

together. The equity narrative is the overarching message for the IPO 's marketing and will be
shared as follows:

 Meetings to “test the waters” before the IPO;
 Earnings release and conference call;
 Prospectus (Form S-1/Form F-1);
 Financial projections; and
 Roadshow slide deck and presentations

It is important to combine all of these aspects to tell the business the same equity narrative.
This would ensure the accuracy of the message to research analysts and investors.

4.3.15 Wealth Management and Planning

As part of their IPO readiness assessment, organizations must perform pre-IPO estate planning.
The complete attention of all executives participating in the transaction is needed for an IPO.
It is necessary to provide executives with direction in the estate planning process to eliminate
distractions and keep them focused on making business public.

Throughout the process and after the IPO, proper estate planning during the pre-IPO stage
also helps to match the priorities of managers with those of the business. In taking advantage
of substantial tax savings opportunities, pre-IPO estate planning is crucial and may assist in
executives' overall asset management strategy.
The IPO project leader or HR manager should inform executives during the initial stages and
involve advisors to make sure that all required components are taken into account in the
production of the estate plans of the executives. Although all estate plans should include a
will, proxy for healthcare and robust attorney control, each should also be customized to the
person and focused on the needs and desires of the executive.

In terms of liquidity, stock options, tax management, charitable donations and the transfer of
capital to future generations, executives may have different criteria. In addition, the estate
plan must be responsive to regulatory criteria, understanding of the demand and possible
timing constraints. A carefully crafted pre-IPO estate plan can be introduced to balance
rewards and gradually retain wealth created during an IPO.

4.3.16 Technology

Another key requirement for organizations preparing for an IPO is gauging the ability of their
systems to meet new requirements.

The current structures and procedures of an organization would always prove insufficient for
its future as a publicly listed company. Therefore, assessing if these frameworks are
adequately scalable to support development and provide the standards of information and
detail needed to fulfill the new public reporting and enforcement obligations of the
organization should be another critical component of the business risk assessment process.

For example, a growing business may no longer be able to continue using accounting software
off-the-shelf until it reaches size and operating mass. The opposite problem could be faced by
organizations formed out from larger firms: scaling down from more complex instruments and
procedures.

In addition, businesses established through takeover also face challenges of incinerated
networks and ambiguous data quality. Systems have to adjust in both of these situations

Page 64