Running a Public Company: From IPO to SEC Reporting (Wiley) [Hardcover]

Steven M. Bragg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0470446366 | ISBN-13: 978-0470446362 | Edition: 1

Praise for Running a Public Company: From IPO to SEC Reporting

"Steve Bragg's book is an essential read for anyone contemplating a public offering or taking on leadership responsibility in a public company. Not only does he explain the complicated aspects of registration and reporting, he provides practical examples of policies, procedures, and controls to keep a public company on the right track. This book is easy to follow and will continue to be a resource for the reader."—Tom Wilkinson , PMB Helin Donovan, LLP

"I will recommend Running a Public Company: From IPO to SEC Reporting to my clients and consulting colleagues as an excellent resource. The book provides helpful guidance about the decision to go public, and about managing the requirements once a company is public. Steve Bragg's extensive knowledge stems from actual business experience, and his writing style makes a complex topic easier to follow and understand."—Valerie G. Walling, CPA, CMC, Management and Internal Controls Consultant

"I highly recommend Steve's new book, Running a Public Company: From IPO to SEC Reporting, because it's a reference manual and insider's guide that contains a treasure trove of valuable insights certain to help managers, accountants, and attorneys navigate through the countless challenges that arise when taking (and keeping) a company public."—Matthew Posta, Esq., CPA, Vice President of Finance, Key Air, LLC

"Mr. Bragg has done an excellent job of demystifying what is required to run your company and sell your stock in the public markets. I consider this a must-read for anyone considering a public offering or working with a public company."—Wray Rives, CPA

"Running a Public Company: From IPO to SEC Reporting is an incredibly exhaustive guide to going public, spanning the process from first deciding to take the leap to filing with the SEC and everything in between—so comprehensive that it even includes the SEC's account number for paying filing fees! This is yet another Steven Bragg title for professionals that takes a complicated and oftentimes confusing process and breaks it down into simple, easy-to-follow steps. Should our company ever decide to make that jump, it is reassuring to know that Running a Public Company has laid out the path before us in perfect detail. Whether used as a reference or a guide, Mr. Bragg makes the process simple, clear, and amazingly straightforward."—Adrienne Gonzalez, Project Coordinator, Roger CPA Review, Chief Information Officer, JrDeputyAccountant.com

"The first A to Z guide that I have seen. An excellent reference for management and investors alike."—Brian A. Lebrecht, Esq., President, The Lebrecht Group, APLC

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The road to an initial public offering (IPO) can be both expensive and time-consuming, requiring significant changes to a company. In addition, this shift also requires managers of private companies to bring their companies into compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations or risk censure. Written by renowned accounting expert Steven Bragg, Running a Public Company: From IPO to SEC Reporting shortens the learning curve dramatically by itemizing the key steps in the process of going public, handling investors, and dealing with the SEC.

Describing special accounting standards that only apply to public companies, this invaluable guide demystifies the process, reassuringly answering a multitude of questions managers may have, including:

• Why should I consider buying a shell company?

• How do I file for a listing on a stock exchange?

• What should I put in the investor relations section of my Web site?

• What is a road show, and how is it conducted?

• How do I deal with analysts, brokers, institutional investors, and individual investors?

• How do I impart information to investors while staying in compliance with Regulation FD?

• What are the various methods for registering stock, and which ones are available to me?

• How do I file a Rule 10b5-1 stock trading plan?

• How do I obtain SEC filing codes?

• How do I reconcile non-GAAP information back to a standard GAAP measure?

• What information is included in a 10-K report, but not in a 10-Q report?

• What if I want to take my company private again?

Running a Public Company: From IPO to SEC Reporting is the ideal sourcebook for the mechanics of how to go public and stay there, while complying with all applicable regulations.

About the Author

Steven M. Bragg, CPA, has been the chief financial officer or controller of four companies, as well as a consulting manager at Ernst & Young and an auditor at Deloitte & Touche. He received a master's degree in finance from Bentley College, an MBA from Babson College, and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Maine. He has been the two-time president of the Colorado Mountain Club, is an avid alpine skier and mountain biker, and is a certified master diver. Mr. Bragg resides in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the author of Accounting Best Practices and Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual, Fifth Edition (both published by Wiley).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 316 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470446366
• ISBN-13: 978-0470446362
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #533,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The primary question I receive is, why would anyone write so many accounting books? The story began in the early 1990s, when my former boss, Jan Roehl-Anderson, asked me to assist in taking over a book called Controllership from Jim Willson (correct spelling), who had been maintaining the book since the early 1950s. I liked the experience, and even found it relaxing (I must have issues!).

So... I had an idea for another book, called Just-in-Time Accounting, which the publisher accepted, and which got me on the track of doing management accounting books. Most accounting books up to that point had primarily dealt with accounting principles and not how to management the department, so this was a rich area for new books.

The Accounting Best Practices book, which is one of the top-selling accounting books in the country, started when I was bouncing around ideas for new books with one of my editors, John DeRemigis. He suggested the accounting best practices idea, and I said, "nah, there's not enough material." Four editions later and over 400+ pages long, it appears that he was right and I was wrong.

Writing became more intense in 2005, when John Wiley & Sons recommended me to the authors of the Wiley GAAP Guide as a new co-author. This is a seriously technical high-end accounting principles guide, and so was nothing like what I had written before. My first assignment was adding a hundred or so new examples to the book, which was absolutely frantic -- imagine becoming an expert on a really far-out accounting topic in one day, writing an esoteric example, and then hurrying on to an entirely different example the next day.

I have just finished writing Accounting Controls Best Practices, which is chock-full of control points for the most common accounting systems, as well as for best practices upgrades to those systems. And now, it is time for a break, if only for a week.

So... I am heading to the Western Pacific for some serious diving off a live aboard dive boat.

Steve Bragg