"Cooking the books" refers to the illegal practice of manipulating financial statements to present a more favorable picture of a company's financial health than is accurate. This can involve inflating revenues, hiding expenses, or misrepresenting assets and liabilities. Such actions are intended to deceive investors, regulators, and other stakeholders. This type of fraud can lead to severe consequences, including legal penalties, loss of reputation, and financial ruin for the company involved. Notable cases of cooking the books include scandals involving companies like Enron and WorldCom, which ultimately resulted in significant reforms in accounting practices and regulations.