
Instead of IPOs, startups look to be acquired - gibsonf1
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/11/BUEA1FBF91.DTL
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pclark
Founders are pretty determined, I'm pretty sure if an IPO was their metric of
success, you'd see a lot more IPOs.

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sabat
_prompted lawmakers to issue new regulations, like the Sarbannes-Oxley
accounting rules, that made it more costly for young companies to go public_

I can vouch for this part -- having dealt directly with SOX audits for several
years, the cost of regulatory compliance and audits would be prohibitive. And
worse: the regulations do nothing to prevent another Enron. They enforce
compliance for mid-level employees, and do little or nothing to stop
executives from messing with the numbers. Yes, the CFO and CEO have to sign
off on reports and cannot use ignorance as an excuse. But that wouldn't stop
another Jeff Skilling (Enron CFO) from routing money to an offshore account;
he wouldn't be taking any more of a chance now than in 2000. SOX regulations
don't protect investors, and are a boon for only one group: big accounting
firms -- the same firms that were part of the accounting scam to begin with.

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sabat
So sfgate is just catching up to 2005 news, now? :-)

