books
n. C / Un. the official records of a business's money and accounts. You use this when you talk about tracking how much a company earns and spends.
n. the formal financial records or ledgers of a business or organization. Plural in form when referring to the collective set of accounts.
The accountant checks the books every month.
After the merger, the auditors spent weeks examining the books to ensure all debts were properly recorded.
Maintaining accurate books is not merely a matter of internal organization but a legal requirement for any corporation seeking to remain compliant with federal tax regulations.
Usually plural in this sense; often appears in the phrase 'to cook the books' meaning to falsify financial data.
the company bookthe company booksIn the accounting sense, the word is almost always used in the plural form to refer to the entire set of records.