Cook-the-books meaning

(idiomatic) To manipulate accounting information, especially illegally.

Enron Corp., once a major U.S. corporation, is now famous for cooking the books.

verb
0
0
(idiomatic, by extension) To falsify an account of an event.
verb
0
0
Advertisement

Origin of cook-the-books

  • From the mid-17th century. A metaphor for cooking, whereby ingredients are changed, altered and improved by the process. Thus financial statements can also be so modified to the benefit of the "cook".
    From Wiktionary