Business in Action 8th Edition by Courtland Bovee,John Thill

Exercise 14

The company you cofounded last year is growing rapidly and has strong prospects for an IPO in the next year or two. The additional capital that an IPO could raise would let you hire the brightest people in the industry and continue to innovate with new product research. There is one potential glitch: You and the rest of the executive team have been so focused on launching the business that you haven't paid much attention to financial control. You've had plenty of funds from venture capitalists and early sales, so working capital hasn't been a problem, but an experienced CEO in your industry recently told you that you'll never have a successful IPO unless you clean up the financial side of the house. Your cofounders say they are too busy chasing great opportunities right now, and they want to wait until right before the IPO to hire a seasoned financial executive to put things in order. What should you do and why?