With four different CFOs in only five years, Rackspace has had to take a fine-toothed comb to the books in advance of the server farm's IPO. According to documents filed with regulators, the company disclosed a "material weakness" in its accounting. But if you believe IPO Boutique analyst Scott Sweet, this is all very typical and the deal is still very much in demand. Investors like Sequoia Capital could probably care less whether or not Rackspace cooked the books — once it goes public, they're liquid and Rackspace's spotty uptime, customer dissatisfaction and financial office revolving door is no longer their problem. However Chairman Graham Weston, pictured here, should probably keep that hard hat on just in case. (Photo by Robert Scoble)

Managed-hosting service Rackspace has filed with the New York Stock Exchange to raise $400 million in an initial public offering. Investors Norwest Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and company chairman Graham Weston stand to profit from the exit. Rackspace reported $18 million in 2007 profits on $362 million revenues. We called the IPO in January, but we're not sold on its merits.