A company usually begins to think about going public when the funding required to meet the demands of its business begins to exceed the company’s ability to raise additional capital through other channels on attractive terms.
But simply needing capital does not always mean that going public is the right answer. There are a number of questions that a company should ask itself before deciding to go public.
A successful IPO process encompasses the three phases of an organization’s public company journey
43% of all companies who recently completed an IPO felt like they started the process too late. Starting early not only provides more time to ready an organization to operate as a public company, but even more importantly, it creates additional time to focus on marketing the offering and other crucial business decisions that will enhance investor confidence in the company’s management team.
Source: PwC’s Cost of IPO survey
A large majority of companies who recently completed an IPO still felt they needed additional help - whether that's internal (42%) or external resources (41%) - particularly in more complex areas like accounting and financial reporting, tax and legal. An independent advisor can help to reduce surprises, improve efficiency, and reduce the time to market.
Source: PwC’s Cost of IPO survey
It's important to get external help, but even more important to make sure it's the right independent advisor for your organization at the right time. Companies who recently completed an IPO noted that hiring a different law firm (42%), hiring investment banks earlier in the process (38%) or switching external auditors (35%) were items they wished they had addressed earlier in the process.
Source: PwC’s Cost of IPO survey
While readiness to operate as a public company is critical in order to be able to take advantage of market windows, the business needs to be ready to perform. It is crucial not to fall short of investor expectations in the first quarter or two post-IPO. Companies who recently completed an IPO wish they had delayed the offering until the company was more profitable (39%) or delayed the offering pending better market conditions (33%). Delaying the necessary upfront preparation work can result in a scramble that is both distracting to the business and risks the loss of investor confidence.
Source: PwC’s Cost of IPO survey
Due to the significant time and effort required to prepare for an offering, over 98% of companies performed a detailed IPO readiness assessment nine to eighteen months in advance of an all hands organizational meeting. The assessment will help you understand where your company currently stands and then identify and prioritize the gaps in your company’s public company preparedness.
Source: PwC’s Cost of IPO survey
Create the right strategy for funding the next stage in your organisation’s development including stakeholder reporting and engagement to maximise value
Reorganise the legal ownership, operational, assets and/or other structures of a company for the purpose of better serving the the stakeholders’ needs and improving effectiveness and efficiency
Identify strategies and enhance confidence through proven compliance records further to an integrated approach with the team of specialists across legal, tax, transfer pricing and structuring and planning
Identify gaps needing to be addressed to deliver a successful IPO and prepare for life as a listing company encompassing everything from structuring and tax, strategy, management incentives and corporate governance
Support through moments of exceptional change and prepare for any additional disciplines
Provide independent and objective advice on transaction accounting and tax, accounting change and problem solving
Provide sound and objective advice on raising or retaining financing to meet the strategic goals via understanding of the capital markets and lender relationship
Provide assurance services including including but not limited to financial, tax and legal coverage to meet the regulatory and capital markets obligations for a transaction by leveraging PwC’s breadth of knowledge of Vietnamese jurisdiction
Advise and assist reporting to ensure compliance and enable the going-public process
Identify, analyse and explain the value in your business to investors
Systems and process reviews to improve the speed of management and regulatory reporting, including but not limited to financial, non-financial and tax reporting
Support your organisation in enhancing, maturing or remediating your systems, processes and data to ensure reliable information is available to report on financial and non-financial KPIs
Establishment or enhancement of internal audit and other governance systems
Enhance effective compliance and thus profitability thanks to well manage tax and regulatory obligations leveraging from our highly disciplined and integrated tax and legal experts
Help you manage risks to retain investor confidence and your company’s reputation
Help you prepare for your first AGM and work with you to ensure you are achieving your strategic goals
Ability to create an actionable path that helps you create value beyond the readiness assessment
An approach that leaves you positioned for growth long after the IPO, customizable for your timeline
Upskilling your team to prepare for the future
Unbiased and well-informed, actionable perspectives specific to your industry
Proven, cross-functional methodology and integrated suite of tools and services
Mitigated risk through objective insights based on years of experience serving IPO clients
Every quarter, PwC provides a global overview and analysis of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and follow-on offerings.
Global Top 100 companies by market capitalisation. See the risers and the fallers, sector dynamics and how global landscape is changing.
In 2018 the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) conducted a follow-up to a 2011 survey on behalf of PwC, asking 370 executives at companies from across the globe for their views on the factors that are shaping the development of global equity capital markets.
Nguyen Hoang Nam
Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Leader and Partner, Assurance Services, PwC Vietnam
Tel: +84 28 3823 0796
Mohammad Mudasser
Director, Working Capital Management, PwC Vietnam
Tel: +84 28 3823 0796, Ext. 3322
