Ask HN: Can the IPO Process Be Disrupted?

I've read that the IPO process can cost anywhere from $1-3 million, with recurring costs >$1 million annually. From what I understand, the key aspects of an IPO are 1) putting together the infrastructure to properly report on your company, and 2) marketing your company to public investors.

The first part would be the larger cost, with the reporting generally consisting of financial results, key business risks, executive compensation plans, and external auditor results. It seems like much of this reporting can be managed by a common software platform, and selling (either via internal auditors or setting up a marketplace) external auditing services could help reduce the cost of the software even further.

It seems like the marketing side of the equation could be more efficient as well. Right now, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent going on flashy (read: inefficient and wasteful) roadshows to promote an asset that, shortly after IPO, will be electronically traded in massive volumes by automated computer algorithms, with little to no consideration of what is said in the 150 page S-1. There is already a decent sized industry focused on marketing/promoting private companies to VCs (e.g., Mattermark, Crunchbase), but all of this marketing needs to be re-purposed to satisfy institutional investor demands.

I realize institutional investors are a bit of a different animal, but is there really no other way around these costs?