The Going-Public Checklist: Everything Your Company Must Prepare
By Ashik Karim, Founder of IPOReady·Editorial standards
Every going-public transaction — IPO, RTO, CPC, or direct listing — converges on the same readiness checklist. This is the master list, organized by workstream, drawn from the same 180+ task library that powers the IPOReady platform. Use it to find your gaps before your lawyers bill you to find them.
Corporate and capital structure
Articles amended for a public-company share structure (single voting class unless dual-class is deliberate); all shareholder agreements terminated or amended for listing; a clean, reconciled cap table including every option, warrant, SAFE, and convertible note; an equity incentive plan on exchange-compliant terms (typically a 10% rolling plan); escrow agreements ready for principals under NP 46-201; and any pre-listing reorganization (Canadian holdco, share consolidation to target price range) completed early enough that the auditors can bless it.
Financial and governance
Two to three years of audited IFRS financial statements plus stub-period reviews; MD&A drafted for every period presented; a working capital model demonstrating 12+ months of runway (exchanges test this); a board with the required independent directors; an audit committee meeting NI 52-110 (three members, majority independent on venture, all independent and financially literate on senior boards); CFO and financial-reporting capacity to close books quarterly on public-company deadlines; and D&O insurance quoted and bound at closing.
Legal, disclosure, and market readiness
Material contracts inventoried and reviewed for change-of-control and consent triggers; IP assignments complete (every founder and contractor); litigation and regulatory exposures documented; PIFs prepared and filed for all directors, officers, and insiders; the principal disclosure document — prospectus, filing statement, or listing statement — drafted with full risk factors; transfer agent engaged and CDS/DTC eligibility mapped; disclosure, insider-trading, and whistleblower policies adopted; a disclosure committee and blackout calendar established; and an investor-relations plan for the first 12 months — the quiet killer of new listings is a great deal followed by silence.
Get the Going-Public Checklist
Every workstream to finish before listing — corporate, financial, governance, legal, disclosure — from the task library that powers IPOReady. Free, by email.
One email with the checklist. No drip campaign, unsubscribe anytime.
Run this exact process inside IPOReady
Tell us your exchange and path — the platform builds your task plan, mandatory-document checklist, and timeline for this specific transaction, then tracks you to listing day.
Start your planFrequently asked questions
What documents do you need to go public?
The core set: audited financial statements, the principal disclosure document (prospectus/filing statement/listing statement), charter documents and bylaws, board and shareholder approvals, PIFs for all insiders, escrow agreements, material contracts, and the exchange's listing application forms. The full mandatory list varies by exchange and path — IPOReady generates it per combination.
When should we start preparing to go public?
Twelve to eighteen months before your target listing date. The audit, governance build, and financial-reporting muscle take that long to be real rather than performative — and starting early converts the transaction itself into a filing exercise instead of a fire drill.
Who do you need on a going-public team?
Securities counsel, a CPAB/PCAOB-registered auditor, and a transfer agent at minimum; plus an underwriter or agent for marketed deals, a sponsor where TSXV policy requires one, and — realistically — a CFO who has closed a public-company quarter before.