Why hiring an Auditor Isn’t Enough to Take Your Company Public.

When entrepreneurs first explore going public, many assume the most important step is getting their financials audited. That assumption is partly correct — but dangerously incomplete.


Yes, a PCAOB-registered audit is required for any U.S. company that wants to trade on NASDAQ, NYSE, or OTCQB/OTCQX. Without audited financials, you can’t file with the SEC, qualify for an exchange, or attract serious investors. But here’s the catch: an audit alone doesn’t take your company public.


An audit validates your numbers. It does not prepare your filings, coordinate regulators, or create a market for your stock. If you think hiring an auditor is the finish line, you’ll end up with completed financials that sit unused while your go-public project stalls.


What Auditors Actually Do


Auditors are critical because they:

  • Examine financial statements to ensure accuracy under U.S. GAAP.
  • Test internal controls to make sure your reporting systems are reliable.
  • Deliver audited financials that are acceptable to the SEC and exchanges.
  • Certify credibility so investors can trust your numbers.


In other words, they provide the foundation of transparency, the minimum requirement for becoming a public company.


What Auditors Don’t Do


Here’s where many entrepreneurs get tripped up: an auditor’s job ends at the numbers. They don’t:

  • Draft or file your Form S-1, Form 10, or merger documents with the SEC.
  • Coordinate with securities lawyers to ensure the filings are accurate and timely.
  • Engage with market makers to secure a trading sponsor.
  • Work with transfer agents to establish shareholder records.
  • Manage your timeline or budget to make sure the overall process keeps moving.


Your auditor will give you audited financials and then step aside. What you do with those financials is outside their scope.


The Risk of Over-Relying on Auditors


Some entrepreneurs mistakenly believe that once the audit is done, their company is “ready to go public.” But without the next steps in place, you end up with a report that doesn’t advance the process. Meanwhile, valuable time and money are lost while everyone waits for someone else to act.


This is why companies often stall for months, or even years, after completing an audit. The numbers may be correct, but the company still isn’t any closer to a ticker symbol.


Why You Still Need a Quarterback

Getting public is about sequencing and integration. The auditor produces audited financials. But those must feed into legal filings, which then go to the SEC or FINRA, which then require a market maker or exchange review, which then trigger the need for a transfer agent.

Someone has to coordinate all of that. Without a quarterback or air-traffic controller role:

  • Auditors deliver numbers that sit unused.
  • Lawyers draft documents waiting on missing inputs.
  • Market makers refuse to engage because the package is incomplete.
  • Costs spiral as professionals bill time without progress.


Bottom Line


Hiring an auditor is necessary, but it’s not enough. Auditors validate your financials, but they don’t coordinate the professionals, filings, and approvals required to get public.

If you want to move beyond a stack of financial reports to a real trading symbol, you need more than an audit. You need someone orchestrating the process, ensuring the audit is just one step in a larger, carefully managed roadmap to going public.