# cook the books

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/cook-the-books
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To manipulate accounting information, especially illegally.

## Examples

- The manager went to jail for cooking the books.
- He loses his job if he tries to cook the books.
- The auditors discovered that the company had been cooking the books for years to hide their massive debts.
- The small business owner decided to cook the books because he was afraid of paying too much in taxes at the end of the year.
- The charity lost its license after an anonymous whistleblower told the police that the treasurer was cooking the books to pay for his luxury vacations.
- After the investigation revealed that the executive had been cooking the books to inflate stock prices, the board of directors demanded his immediate resignation.

## Origin

First appearing in the mid-17th century, the phrase employs the culinary metaphor of heat and preparation to describe the alteration of financial records. Just as a cook may change, alter, or improve raw ingredients to suit a particular palate, a creative accountant may modify a ledger to the specific benefit of the person managing the figures. The accounts are, in this sense, processed until they are no longer in their raw, factual state.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.