The market for initial public offerings, by some accounts, looks set to grow significantly this year. EY in January, for instance, forecasted a “favorable outlook” in 2026.
For private equity-owned entities considering a switch to the public markets this year, the picture is, of course, a little more complicated. And whose job it is to orchestrate an IPO in such cases appears to be an open question. A recent survey by New York consulting firm Accordion calls out a notable mismatch between PE sponsors and finance chiefs at their portfolio companies.
For instance, 85% of CFOs surveyed said that boards or sponsors “ultimately control IPO timing and exit method,” the report stated. And yet, among PE sponsors surveyed, 65% said they expect finance chiefs to own “IPO readiness.”
The firm’s survey included responses from 200 CFOs at PE-backed companies and 200 sponsors.
Accordion’s survey also found a disconnect on IPO timing between CFOs and sponsors. Most CFO respondents (40%) said their company would be ready for a public offering within 12 to 24 months, while most sponsors (40%) expect portcos to be ready within six to 12 months.
In an email to CFO.com, Accordion’s Managing Director and Head of IPO Readiness Shauna Watson said those figures highlight a “difference in operating philosophy.”
“Sponsors increasingly expect portfolio companies to operate in a continuous state of readiness, so they can move quickly when market conditions allow,” she said. “CFOs, by contrast, often begin preparing once a potential IPO timeline becomes real. In markets where IPO windows can open and close quickly, that difference in mindset can have real implications for whether companies are able to capitalize on an opportunity.”
Similarly, 20% of CFOs surveyed said they’re actively preparing for an IPO within the next 12 months, and just about a third (30%) said their “finance and reporting foundations are fully public-company ready,” according to Accordion.
On the sponsor side, 60% believe that at least a quarter of their portcos are ready for an IPO within the next three years.
Watson said her team encourages CFOs to “think about readiness as an operating mantra rather than a milestone.”
“The companies that navigate exits most successfully are the ones that bake readiness into how the finance function runs every day: from forecasting and KPI visibility to reporting discipline and data quality,” she noted. “When readiness becomes part of the operating model, companies are far better positioned to move quickly when market conditions allow.”
Still, as evidenced by ever-increasing hold times for portcos, exits have become more challenging in recent years. And as hold times increase, so, too, do sponsor expectations, according to Accordion’s survey. Eighty percent of sponsors said their “IPO readiness” expectations are higher after a longer hold, per the survey. Accordion defines that term as “a company’s ability to credibly pursue an IPO when the market window opens,” Watson said.
The report noted that many CFO teams “have not meaningfully adjusted their IPO readiness approach, treating extended timelines as business as usual rather than preparation windows.”
“This misalignment widens the gap between expectation and execution as exit options re-emerge,” the report stated.
