Region: General | Usage example: The executives were arrested after cooking the books for several years.

Cook the books

Meaning

Falsify financial records in order to misrepresent figures.

Used to accuse fraud or corruption in finance and government.

Origin notes can vary by region and source; this page gives the commonly reported explanation and usage context.

Tampering with the accounting ledgers, often called books.

Used in the 19th century when paper ledgers were the standard accounting tool.