After the company and investment bank agree to an underwriting deal, the bank puts together a registration statement to be filed with the SEC.

This statement has detailed information about the offering and company info such as financial statements, management background, any legal problems, where the money is to be used, and who owns any stock before the company goes public.

The SEC will investigate the company to make sure all the information submitted to it is correct and that all relevant financial data has been disclosed.

If everything is OK, the SEC will work with the company to set a date for the IPO. After SEC approval for the IPO, the underwriter must put together a prospectus; that is, all financial information on the company that's doing the IPO.