Filing S1, ensure repeatable business, practice quarterly forecast and actually hitting forecast (revenue is predictable & "to the right"), practice quarterly filings, external facing responsibilities (engage with bankers on potential company acquisitions and IPO), hire more senior team (VP Finance), SOX implementation, real revenue recognition, audit from Big 4, Corporate governance
know market opportunity, know your product(s) in and out, competitive analysis, guide CEO & Board on potential exits, Understand the challenges that need to be solved and proved to get to IPO or acquisition. Know the questions you will be asked and the appropriate responses, Soft skills - grit, inquisitive by nature, challenge, presence, backbone, continue to ask "why" until you are satisfied(but do it politely)!
3 things: scalable, predictable, profitable
Analyzing business lines, geographies, enterprise vs SMB. CAC ratios, gross margin (needs to be 70%+ for SaaS business), bookings growth, revenue growth, sales efficiency, churn, Net revenue retention (existing contracts vs upgrades), ACV, head count & retention issues, ARPU (Average revenue per unit), LTV, billing frequency (monthly vs quarterly vs annual), contract length, renewal rate (customer renewal), professional services, trends, outages/instances (if part of the business).