When you begin the process of taking your company public, it's a bit like signing up for a crash course in a foreign language.

Fortunately, professional accountants, securities lawyers and brokers are available to help you cross the t's and dot the i's of this mysterious new lingo.

But once the company has been listed, a whole new set of complex issues crops up, which must be addressed on an ongoing basis. After listing, the learning curve continues to rise at a 45-degree angle.

At this point, the wise CEO punches these numbers on his or her cellphone: 403.216.8450.

When the call is answered by one of the experts at Alberta Compliance Services Inc., smart managers can relax. They know they'll be kept up to speed with the sometimes confusing assortment of securities and stock exchange policies and regs.

The rules of the game can be complex and each public company must observe them to the letter. Since 1996, Alberta Compliance Services Inc. of Calgary has been providing the knowledgeable guidance that companies need to navigate these occasionally bewildering waters.

Here's an example: Say the price of your company's shares starts to climb – or fall – at an unusual rate. Or perhaps shares are being bought and sold in unusually high volumes. As a matter of routine, a market surveillance officer is likely to phone your corporate head office and ask why.

At this point, Alberta Compliance Services is available to intercede on your behalf. Their experts will explain the wherefores and whys of the day's trading activity to the exchange official in a language they both understand.

Of course, Alberta Compliance Services will lighten your corporate load in a dozen other important ways. For example, their diary date service alerts clients well in advance, helping them make sure that they file pertinent financial statements on time.

On-time filing is a strict requirement for all public companies and the procedure can be trickier than you might imagine.

"Quarterly statements are due 60 days after your quarter has ended. But companies sometimes equate that to mean two months," ACS president Joan Moody explained.

"However, if your quarter ends on February 28, statements must be received within 60 days – which does not mean the last day in April."

hat else? Well, about 150 Canadian companies from sea to sea have also asked Alberta Compliance Services to serve as their SEDAR filing agent. That's because Moody's experienced team never fails to return a phone call, and is thoroughly versed in every procedure for continuous disclosure submissions.

Moody is particularly proud of another feature Alberta Compliance Services has recently added to lighten the client's corporate load. New Securities Exchange Commission rules will soon require U.S.-reporting issuers to file news releases, financial statements, proxy materials etc. through a system known as EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System).

Documents must be filed to EDGAR in either the HTML or ASCII formats, to allow large database companies such as Bloomberg to readily search and access them.

Alberta Compliance Services will help you convert your documents to the appropriate format. Or perhaps an annual shareholders' meeting is sneaking up on you.

Why not ask Alberta Compliance Services to assume responsibility for the task? They'll handle every detail, from booking a meeting room to filing advance notice to the appropriate regulatory bodies to co-ordination of printing and delivering of proxy materials.

Twice-yearly information seminars are another Alberta Compliance Services specialty. Their seminars are designed to enhance the business community's understanding of securities legislation and a variety of stock exchange policies.

Access the Alberta Compliance Services website for more information on seminar scheduling, plus all the other ways this organization of diligent multi-taskers can help you stay ahead of the game.

A former official of the Canadian Venture Exchange (now the TSX Venture), Moody has built her years of experience, a wealth of securities knowledge and a vast network of contacts into one the most effective all-around services in the investment community.

Isn't it time you invested in a little peace of mind?