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Discover LudwigThe phrase "Cook the books" is correct and usable in written English
It is typically used to describe the act of falsifying financial records or accounts to present a misleading picture of a company's financial status. Example: "The accountant was found guilty of trying to cook the books to hide the company's losses."
Idiom
Cook the books.
If people cook the books, they keep false accounts to make money illegally or avoid paying tax.
Dictionary
Cook the books
verb
To manipulate accounting information, especially illegally.
Exact(57)
Rather it is underlings who cook the books.
Bottura suggested calling the shoot "Cook the Books," but he was overruled.
At one point, Sanders e-mailed another employee, "I don't want to cook the books anymore".
Some C.E.O.'s cook the books and risk jail rather than submit to reality.
And they will cook the books to pursue their own interests".
At a press conference, Vance called the scheme a "massive effort to cook the books".
"To look better to the public, you cook the books," he said.
Andersen's criminal indictment sent a simple, deterrent message: help cook the books and your business is toast.
"We're really not in any way trying to cook the books or fool anyone," Mr. Reuter said.
Corporations won't pay; they'll just continue to cook the books and move overseas, and send their contributions to the Republicans.
The Planning Commission could certainly have done a better job in explaining its new methodology, but it didn't cook the books.
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Since I tried Ludwig back in 2017, I have been constantly using it in both editing and translation. Ever since, I suggest it to my translators at ProSciEditing.

Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak
CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com