Cash loss simply refers to the removal of cash from a till drawer or other, overflow container (cash box or safe) prior to reconciliation with no attempt to disguise the loss. Cash is concealed on the person or passed to an accomplice.
Any method possible to open the till drawer where no transaction is required is a risk. These include, no sales, change runs, training mode etc among others.
Other indicators of cash loss risk may include till drawer alarms or length of time the till drawers are open as often cashiers spend time with the till drawer open arranging notes ready for concealment (rolling up etc).
Till drawers open for long periods may indicate that the cashier is trading from an open till where cash transactions are not being recognised but retained by the cashier. In high cash turnover businesses this is a particular risk area for potential loss.