How to Prioritize IPO Process Tasks During Market Uncertainty
The IPO landscape in 2025 presents both opportunities and challenges. Regardless of any uncertainty, there are distinct steps you can take to make sure your company is in a ready state for a move toward IPO when the opportunity presents itself.
Effectively navigate the IPO process during market uncertainty with the insights into how to prioritize preparation tasks.
IPO Market Analysis for 2025
According to market analysis, the year began with strong performance. March brought renewed uncertainty as trade tensions led to increased market volatility. Despite this, we're still seeing gains, including a modest resurgence in SPAC activity. However, the ongoing tariff policy reactions continue to contribute to an undercurrent of uncertainty.
The NASDAQ composite rose 6% in February, while the S&P 500 increased by 5% during the same period. This positive momentum suggested a return to more normalized market conditions similar to 2019, with a significant backlog of companies waiting to go public.
Unfortunately, this momentum was short lived, and the IPO numbers tell a compelling story: As of May 31, the NASDAQ has seen 141 IPOs, raising $5.8 billion. For comparison, the full year of 2024 recorded 238 IPOs with $38.92 billion raised, while 2023 had 164 IPOs with $23.95 billion in proceeds. The benchmark year remains 2021, which saw an exceptional 1,053 IPOs raising $336.17 billion.
The VIX volatility index spiked to 30, raising concerns about potential GDP losses across countries, a recession, and job losses, among others.
For companies considering an IPO, this market context requires careful timing and thorough preparation.
IPO Market Timing Considerations
Many companies were preparing to go public in late 2024 and early 2025, but current trade tensions have pushed timelines to the second half of 2025 and many considering 2026 or beyond.
When there’s uncertainty, the key is to maintain readiness for when market conditions improve. This allows you to move quickly when the window of opportunity opens.
Finding the Right Balance for IPO Readiness
What’s required to be in that ready state? There’s a delicate balance between being fully prepared and being ready enough for an IPO.
This balance can be challenging for CFOs when their CEOs and the Board of Directors push for IPO readiness without allowing the budget required to complete everything. The key is building sustainable infrastructure that supports not just going public but also being a successful public company long-term while balancing financing constraints and not spending too quickly. Many of the IPO readiness tasks are just good business, so some of these can be prioritized, even if the IPO timeline is deferred.
Creating a comprehensive IPO readiness roadmap with a sequenced Gantt chart can help identify critical path items. This gives insight into which elements require immediate attention versus those that can be addressed later in the process.
Prioritization: What’s a Must-Do and What to Defer
Not all IPO-preparation tasks carry the same urgency. There are several must-do items that can’t be delayed while some tasks can be deferred or outsourced.
Before IPO: Must-Do Tasks
These tasks must happen regardless of when your IPO takes place. These are activities that you should take action on as soon as possible in order to prevent delays once your IPO is a go.
Capitalization Table Cleanup
- Establish a clean, accurate capitalization table
- Ideally maintained by legal counsel and with all of support easily retrievable
Financial Audit Implementation
- Obtain a private company audit and begin moving towards public company standards and auditor independence
- Establish rigorous book-closing procedures and proper cutoff practices, especially on quarterly periods
Systems Infrastructure Assessment
- Evaluate if current systems are sufficient for public reporting
- Plan for necessary upgrades based on reporting requirements
Start Early: Long-Lead Tasks
These tasks require significant planning and integration time. It’s good to give yourself as much time as possible by starting in on them early.
ERP System Implementation
- While you can go public on QuickBooks, moving to a more robust ERP system takes time, requiring significant planning and implementation
- Transitioning ERP systems during public company audits and registration statement process introduces significant risk
Company Culture Transformation
- Shift from private to public company mindset
- Address human capital considerations
- Manage confidentiality when it comes to announcing IPO plans
IPO Tasks to Defer or Outsource
Certain functions may be efficiently supported through consultants and third parties, such as:
- Investor relations functions. These can be quickly established by outsourcing to experienced third-party firms.
- Hiring a SEC reporting role and internal tax resources. These functions can be outsourced even beyond the IPO.
For SOX compliance and internal controls development, prioritize developing a baseline set of internal controls and defer the broader implementation, focusing only on those areas which could pose a risk of material weakness in your financial statement audit.
Postpone non-critical system changes and implementations—tools like an equity compensation system can be rolled out post-IPO before the lockup expires, rather than now.
The Beginning, Not the End
Perhaps the most important perspective to keep sight of is that becoming public isn’t the finish line. It's just the beginning. This underscores the importance of viewing an IPO as the start of a new phase rather than an end goal, with sustainable infrastructure being critical for post-IPO success.
Companies that internalize this principle and prepare accordingly are best positioned to not only complete a successful IPO but also thrive as public entities in the long term.
We’re Here to Help
If you have further questions about preparing for your IPO or what to prioritize, contact your Moss Adams x Baker Tilly professional.