Programme overview
Introduction:
IPO readiness, preparing a company for listing through governance, reporting and prospectus workstreams, is a 5-day course for CFO office, financial reporting, company secretarial and legal teams that ends with an IPO Readiness Roadmap for a case group. Family-owned and state-owned groups often discover late that their group structure, IFRS history, control evidence and board set-up cannot support a listing timetable, so advisers are appointed before the company is ready and the float slips. Nominees already run reporting, legal or governance work and learn through case study on pre-listing group files. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this IPO readiness course.
Course Objectives:
- Assess a company's gap to listing across structure, reporting, controls, governance, people and disclosure using a scored readiness diagnostic
- Plan the legal and tax reorganisation that places operating subsidiaries, related-party assets and minority interests under one listing vehicle
- Upgrade financial reporting to IFRS-based historical financial information with a faster close, segment data and audit-ready working papers
- Document and test internal control over financial reporting so that management can stand behind the figures carried into the prospectus
- Establish the listed-company board, audit, nomination and remuneration committees, independent directors and executive incentive arrangements
- Coordinate the equity story inputs, prospectus drafting and verification work and the post-listing continuing obligations calendar
Target Audience:
- Finance managers responsible for group reporting, consolidation and the audit relationship ahead of a listing
- Controllers responsible for the close process, accounting policies and internal control documentation
- Company secretarial and governance managers responsible for board structures, charters and shareholder matters
- Legal managers responsible for group reorganisation, material contracts and offering document inputs
- Strategy and corporate development managers responsible for the business plan, KPIs and the listing project office
- Owner-family office and holding company managers responsible for preparing a portfolio company to go public
Course Outline:
Day 1: Listing Ambition, Readiness Diagnostic and Project Set-Up
- Listing Rationale Map for Family and State-Owned Groups
- Public Company Expectations Versus Private Company Habits Comparison
- IPO Readiness Diagnostic Scorecard Across Seven Workstreams
- Listing Eligibility Tests for Track Record and Free Float
- Pre-Listing Project Office Charter and Adviser Selection Grid
Day 2: Group Restructuring and IFRS Historical Financial Information
- Listing Vehicle Selection and Group Reorganisation Step Plan
- Related-Party Asset Carve-Out and Shareholder Loan Clean-Up
- Tax Structuring Review and Effective Tax Rate Bridge
- IFRS Accounting Policy Alignment and Conversion Adjustments Log
- Three-Year Historical Financial Information and Audit Opinion Plan
Day 3: Controls, Close Discipline and Listed-Company Governance
- ICFR Risk and Control Matrix for Material Accounts
- Fast Close Calendar and Consolidation Tool Upgrade Plan
- Board Composition Plan With Independent Director Search Brief
- Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committee Charter Drafting
- Executive Remuneration Benchmarking and Employee Share Plan Design
Day 4: Equity Story, Prospectus Inputs and Problem Cases
- Equity Story Inputs and KPI Definitions Book
- Prospectus Business Section and Risk Factor Drafting Inputs
- Verification Notes and Disclosure Evidence File Procedure
- Working Capital Statement and Profit Forecast Support Pack
- Readiness Red Flags From Founder Control and Legacy Contracts
Day 5: Case Study and the IPO Readiness Roadmap
- Case Group Data Pack and Readiness Scorecard Completion
- Case Restructuring Step Plan and IFRS Gap Closure Schedule
- Case Board, Committee and Control Remediation Plan
- Disclosure Committee Terms and Post-Listing Obligations Calendar
- IPO Readiness Roadmap Completion and Steering Committee Defence
Skills You Will Gain:
- Readiness Gap Scoring
- Group Reorganisation Planning
- IFRS Conversion Management
- Control Matrix Documentation
- Committee Charter Drafting
- KPI Definition Setting
- Prospectus Verification
- Post-Listing Obligations Planning
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver an IPO Readiness Roadmap for a case group to the steering committee, the CFO and the board
- Decide which restructuring steps, reporting upgrades and governance changes must be complete before advisers are mandated
- Avoid a delayed float, a qualified audit opinion or a late prospectus rewrite caused by gaps found during due diligence
- Share the readiness scorecard, control matrix template, committee charters and verification procedure with finance and legal colleagues
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant presents the IPO Readiness Roadmap to the steering committee, the CFO and the board, who use it to decide whether the company can meet a target listing window and which workstreams need budget, owners and outside support first. The roadmap also briefs the reporting accountants and legal counsel before they are mandated. After its first quarterly review, the unit should rescore the readiness diagnostic, compare progress on restructuring, IFRS history and control remediation with plan, and reset the listing window if critical gaps remain open.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before an IPO readiness course on preparing a company for listing?
Participants should already read group financial statements and understand basic corporate structures and board roles. No capital markets experience is expected. Bringing an anonymised group chart, a recent audit report or a board charter helps them apply the case study to their own company.
How does an IPO readiness course differ from a capital markets issuance or investor relations course?
It covers the months of internal preparation before a listing: restructuring, IFRS history, controls, board set-up and prospectus inputs. Issuance courses cover book building, pricing and bond or sukuk execution, and investor relations courses cover results days and analyst dialogue after listing.
Why does IPO readiness for listing take many months before the prospectus is written?
Auditors need several years of consistent IFRS figures, controls must operate long enough to be tested, the group often needs reorganising and independent directors must be found and seated. These steps cannot be compressed once advisers start the prospectus timetable.
What do participants take back from the IPO readiness course on preparing a company for listing?
Participants take back an IPO Readiness Roadmap for a case group, with a scored readiness diagnostic, a restructuring step plan, an IFRS gap schedule, a control matrix template, committee charters and a post-listing obligations calendar ready to adapt to their own company.