Learn English – the opposite of “cooking the books”

antonymsword-choice

I'm trying to describe being on top of things accounting-wise but can't quite find the words. Is there some kind of idiomatic antonym for "cooking the books"?

Best Answer

In colloquial use "keeping clean books" is a phrase that is often used and would be widely understood.

(Technically, you could say "following generally accepted accounting principles" or "using GAAP" but that's only idiomatic in accounting and finance.)