Going public is a big step for a software company. Preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) is a challenging task and requires exceptional financial management and governance. Potential investors, auditors and underwriters evaluate a candidate's reporting capabilities, IT systems, and compliance, as well as its overall business prospects to determine its outlook. This is true for any growing company that may be looking for outside investment, be it in the form of an IPO, acquisition, or private investment.

In an upcoming NetSuite webinar "Preparing for IPO: Streaming Compliance in the Cloud," on April 23, 2014, experts in business finance will share their best practices for attracting investors and preparing for a public offering. They will also explain how and why to upgrade a company's financial systems, and what controls they should have to ensure good governance.

One of the speakers, Cory Douglas of Medidata Solutions, a provider of cloud-based solutions for clinical research in life sciences and clinical development, was named NetSuite's "2013 CFO Hero" for spearheading his company's transition from manual, paper driven processes to automated processes, will discuss Medidata’s overhaul of its contract entry and financials systems and their replacement with NetSuite.

Two other executives who will be sharing their advice at the webinar are Dan Miller, vice president of finance and general manager of the Software vertical for NetSuite, and Steve Hobbs, the managing director of Protiviti, a global governance and risk management consulting company. They will explain how the cloud streamlines financial consolidation, reporting and compliance, and provide insights into the IPO preparation process based on their years of work with fast growing companies. This is a highly useful event for anyone involved in a growing technology firm that wants to attract outside inventors, now or in the near future. To register for the webcast, visit: http://bit.ly/1l37U95