What is the opposite of "cooking the books"?
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"?
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.)
Maybe honest bookkeeping could be the opposite of cooking the books.
Perhaps
to keep impeccable books