[koo
k] 
| 1. | to prepare (food) by the use of heat, as by boiling, baking, or roasting. |
| 2. | to subject (anything) to the application of heat. |
| 3. | Slang. to ruin; spoil. |
| 4. | Informal. to falsify, as accounts: to cook the expense figures. |
| 5. | to prepare food by the use of heat. |
| 6. | (of food) to undergo cooking. |
| 7. | Slang.
|
| 8. | a person who cooks: The restaurant hired a new cook. |
| 9. | cook off, (of a shell or cartridge) to explode or fire without being triggered as a result of overheating in the chamber of the weapon. |
| 10. | cook up, Informal.
|
| 11. | cook one's goose. goose (def. 11). |
| 12. | cook the books, Slang. to manipulate the financial records of a company, organization, etc., so as to conceal profits, avoid taxes, or present a false financial report to stockholders. |
"There is the proverb, the more cooks the worse potage." [Gascoigne, 1575]
Cook the Books
A fraudulent activity done by some corporations to falsify their financial statements.
Investopedia Commentary
Cookie jar accounting is a great example of cooking the books.
Related Links
Cooking The Books 101
Putting Management Under The Microscope
Off-Balance-Sheet Entities: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
See also: Cookie Jar Accounting, Voodoo Accounting
cook the books
cook the books
Falsify a company's financial records, as in An independent audit showed that they've been cooking the books for years. This slangy phrase was first recorded in 1636.