Which statement best describes the difference between cash larceny and a register disbursement scheme?

• A. They both require forged documents
• B. Cash larceny involves stealing cash from the register without recording a transaction; register disbursement relies on a fraudulent transaction to remove cash
• C. Register disbursement involves skimming cash
• D. They are the same

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how the cash is removed from the till and whether a corresponding accounting entry is created. Cash larceny occurs when cash is taken from the register and there isn’t a recording of a transaction to reflect that loss. In other words, the thief pockets cash and the books don’t show a sale, a refund, or any other transaction that would justify the missing cash.

A register disbursement scheme, by contrast, relies on a fraudulent transaction to move cash out of the till. The theft is accomplished by manipulating the disbursement process—such as creating a bogus refund, voiding a sale, or issuing a fraudulent vendor payment—so the cash outflow is recorded as a legitimate transaction in the records.

That distinction is what makes the statement correct: cash larceny is stealing cash without recording a transaction, while a register disbursement scheme depends on a fraudulent transaction to remove cash. The other ideas don’t fit as well because they either imply both scenarios require a fraudulent entry in every case, or they confuse cash larceny with other fraud types like skimming, which is a separate category.