Jane was charged with cooking the accounts of her mother's store.
•It's hard to tell whether she really cooked the accounts or just didn't know what she was doing.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
cook the books — (informal) To falsify accounts, etc • • • Main Entry: ↑cook * * * cook the books phrase to change accounts and figures dishonestly, usually in order to get money Thesaurus: accounts, accountancy and accountantshypernym types of tax and taxation … Useful english dictionary
cook the books — If people cook the books, they keep false accounts to make money illegally or avoid paying tax … The small dictionary of idiomes
cook the books — Book Book (b[oo^]k), n. [OE. book, bok, AS. b[=o]c; akin to Goth. b[=o]ka a letter, in pl. book, writing, Icel. b[=o]k, Sw. bok, Dan. bog, OS. b[=o]k, D. boek, OHG. puoh, G. buch; and fr. AS. b[=o]c, b[=e]ce, beech; because the ancient Saxons and … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
cook the books — To deliberately falsify the financial statements of a company. This is an illegal practice. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary * * * cook the books INFORMAL ► to give false information in a company s accounts in order to gain an advantage: »By… … Financial and business terms
Cook The Books — A buzzword describing fraudulent activities performed by corporations in order to falsify their financial statements. Typically, cooking the books involves augmenting financial data to yield previously non existent earnings. Examples of… … Investment dictionary
cook the books (to) — Falsify records. ► “In the same way a company can use ‘CREATIVE ACCOUNTING’ to make its financials look the way it wants them to, the federal government can cook its books, too.” (Secured Lender, May/June 1995, p. 44) … American business jargon
cook the books — A person who cooks the books is one who changes the facts or figures in the financial accounts, often in order to steal money. The actor discovered after a while that his agent was cooking the books … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
cook the books — informal to record false information in the accounts of an organization, especially in order to steal money. One of the directors had been cooking the books and the firm had been losing money for years. (usually in continuous tenses) … New idioms dictionary
cook the books — verb a) To manipulate accounting information, especially illegally. Corp., once a major U.S. corporation, is now famous for cooking the books. b) To falsify an account of an event … Wiktionary
cook the books — The practice of falsifying financial records and statements with the intention of misleading others on the financial performance or financial position of an accounting entity … Accounting dictionary
cook the books — falsely alter account books … English contemporary dictionary
