Using Bank Reconciliation to Determine Cash Receipts Stolen

Alaska Impressions Co. records all cash receipts on the basis of its cash register tapes. Alaska Impressions Co. discovered during October that one of its salesclerks had stolen an undetermined amount of cash receipts while taking the daily deposits to the bank. The following data have been gathered for October:

Cash in bank according to the general ledger	$8,725
Cash according to the October 31 bank statement	20,155
Outstanding checks as of October 31	5,760
Bank service charge for October	25
Note receivable, including interest collected by bank in October	9,335

No deposits were in transit on October 31.

a. Determine the amount of cash receipts stolen by the salesclerk.

b. What accounting controls would have prevented or detected this theft?