GAAP Conversion Cost: Three Anonymized Examples From Real Contracts
October 13, 2026
A GAAP conversion costs between USD 13,800 and EUR 60,000 or more on a fixed fee, depending on how many entities and GAAP frameworks are in scope, how many technical accounting memos the conversion needs and how well your finance team prepares. This post shows three anonymized conversions from signed contracts, what drove the price in each, and how the fee tiers are built. All figures are exclusive of VAT.
Key takeaways
- GAAP conversion cost is a fixed fee, paid in three to six monthly installments, not an hourly bill.
- A single subsidiary with good preparation can be converted for USD 13,800; a five-jurisdiction group with three memos cost EUR 60,000.
- Entity count, framework count and the number of technical memos set the tier.
- Your team’s preparation sets where you are within the tier, and it is the cost driver you control.
- Big Four firms typically charge USD 150,000 to 250,000 or more for comparable scope.
How GAAP conversion cost is structured: three fixed-fee tiers
Conversions are priced as fixed fees and paid in monthly installments, typically three to six. Engagements fall into three tiers:
| Tier | Fee range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | USD 13,800 to 24,000 | GAAP Summit workshop and preliminary US GAAP policy recommendations. Your finance team does the pre-work (chart of accounts, current policy documentation). No technical memos and no financial statement preparation. |
| Premium | USD 18,000 to 35,000 | The advisor prepares the documentation and analysis: the full GAAP conversion matrix, a half-day GAAP Summit workshop and usually one or two technical accounting memos. |
| Elite | USD 36,000 to 60,000+ | Full service across multiple entities or frameworks: the complete conversion matrix, the workshop and two to three technical memos. Can include US GAAP trial balance preparation and active liaison with your auditor. |
Five factors that move the fee within a tier
- Number of entities and GAAP frameworks. Each additional entity or framework adds its own mapping, adjustments and review.
- Internal preparation. This is the largest factor. A complete chart of accounts and written current policies move you to the lower end of a tier.
- Technical accounting memos. Each memo costs USD 10,000 to 12,000. Memos are required for PCAOB and SEC readiness.
- Historical periods covered. Every comparative period needs the same adjustments.
- Timeline. A compressed delivery date carries a surcharge.
Example 1: US agri-SaaS company with a UK subsidiary (USD 13,800)
The company reported its UK subsidiary under FRS 102 and its US operations on a tax basis, and needed one US GAAP view of the group. The scope was contained: one subsidiary, organized books and a finance team that did the pre-work.
- Tier: Essential
- Frameworks: FRS 102 and US tax basis to US GAAP
- Fee: USD 13,800, paid in 3 installments of USD 4,600
- Timeline: about 3 months
The fee is at the bottom of the Essential range because the team prepared its own chart of accounts and documentation of current policies. The engagement could focus on the workshop and the policy recommendations rather than on cleaning up records, and no memos were needed at this stage.
Example 2: Irish subsidiary of a US company (EUR 23,600)
An Irish subsidiary reporting under Irish GAAP (FRS 102) needed US GAAP figures for its US parent’s reporting.
- Tier: Essential Original
- Frameworks: Irish GAAP (FRS 102) to US GAAP
- Fee: EUR 23,600, paid in 4 installments of EUR 5,900
- Timeline: about 4 months
The package was similar to Example 1, but the fee was higher. More analysis was needed to bring the accounts to a US GAAP standard, and the timeline ran to four months [TO CHECK: confirm this is the reason the Irish engagement priced higher than Example 1]. The comparison shows that the same package can carry a very different fee depending on the condition of the books and the work required.
Example 3: entertainment group across five jurisdictions (EUR 60,000)
A streaming and entertainment group operating in the UK, Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands and Belgium needed a full US GAAP conversion.
- Tier: Elite
- Scope: 5 jurisdictions, full conversion
- Memos: 3 (overall conversion approach, revenue recognition and content assets)
- Fee: EUR 60,000, paid in 5 installments of EUR 12,000
- Timeline: about 4 months
Two things set the fee. Each of the five jurisdictions brought its own local framework to map. The three memos covered judgment-heavy areas: revenue under ASC 606 and the accounting for content assets both require detailed analysis, and at USD 10,000 to 12,000 per memo they account for a large share of the fee. Multi-entity, multi-framework conversions with several memos are what Elite pricing reflects.
What separates a USD 13,800 conversion from a EUR 60,000 one
| Example | Tier | Entities | Memos | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agri-SaaS company and UK subsidiary | Essential | 2 | 0 | USD 13,800 |
| Irish subsidiary | Essential Original | 1 | 0 | EUR 23,600 |
| Entertainment group | Elite | 5 jurisdictions | 3 | EUR 60,000 |
The range follows four variables: the number of entities, the number of frameworks, the number of memos and the preparation the client brought. The two Essential engagements show that preparation alone can change the fee by about 10,000 within the same package.
GAAP conversion cost compared with the alternatives
- Big Four firms typically charge USD 150,000 to 250,000 or more for comparable scope.
- An in-house hire costs EUR 90,000 to 130,000 or more in salary, plus recruiting costs and time to get up to speed, for expertise you may need only once.
- A CFO-led conversion has no external fee, but it is usually slower and riskier, and it costs more once an auditor sends work back for remediation.
How to keep your conversion at the lower end of its tier
Your entity structure and the number of memos your audit requires decide the tier. Preparation decides the fee within it. Arrive with a complete chart of accounts, trial balances for every entity and period, and written descriptions of your current accounting policies, and the engagement can start on the conversion itself rather than on rebuilding records. For groups with several subsidiaries, see how to manage GAAP conversions for multiple subsidiaries across Europe.
For an estimate based on your own entities, frameworks and periods, use the GAAP conversion cost calculator.