Commitments and Contingencies (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			36 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2011	Apr. 30, 2010	Apr. 30, 2009	Apr. 30, 2011	Apr. 30, 2008
Additional tax assessment limit per client	$ 5,500			$ 5,500
Standard guarantee accrual amount	14,700,000	14,500,000		14,700,000
Advertising obligation	9,500,000		45,800,000	9,500,000
Advertising obligation to be paid during fiscal year 2012	6,700,000			6,700,000
Contingent business acquisition obligations	3,800,000			3,800,000
Contingent consideration liability recorded	11,000,000			11,000,000
Franchise equity lines of credit-undrawn commitment	85,200,000			85,200,000
Remaining franchise equity lines of credit-undrawn commitment	37,700,000			37,700,000
Standby letter of credit issue limit	5,300,000			5,300,000
Standby letter of credit outstanding	0			0
Rent expenses	272,100,000	289,600,000	308,100,000
Industrial revenue bond purchased	31,000,000			31,000,000
Industrial revenue bond due date	December 2015
Percentage of loans originated in 2006 and 2007	89.00%			89.00%
Amount of loans originated during 2005 through 2007	84,000,000,000			84,000,000,000
Percentage of loans issued to government sponsored entities	1.00%			1.00%
Reserve for losses on repurchases	126,260,000	188,200,000	206,595,000	126,260,000	243,066,000
Payments under indemnity agreement dated April 2008	(49,785,000)	(151,000)	(64,000)
Increase in losses due to assumed 1% increase in validity rates and loss severities	16,000,000
Claims subject to review by SCC, amount	79,000,000			79,000,000
Percentage of claims denied by SCC	84.00%
Percentage of valid claims that resulted in loan repurchases	22.00%
Percentage of valid claims that resulted in indemnification or settlement payments	78.00%
Loss severity rate	57.00%			57.00%
Losses incurred on claim settlements				117,000,000
Net balance of all mortgage loans held for sale by SCC	12,300,000			12,300,000
Minimum [Member]
Operating lease term (years)	3
Maximum [Member]
Operating lease term (years)	5
Percentage of loans issued to government sponsored entities	1.00%			1.00%
2005 [Member]
Value of loans which have defaulted in the first two years	4,000,000,000			4,000,000,000
2006 [Member]
Value of loans which have defaulted in the first two years	6,300,000,000			6,300,000,000
2007 [Member]
Value of loans which have defaulted in the first two years	2,900,000,000			2,900,000,000
Private-label Securitization Transactions [Member]
Claims subject to review by SCC, amount	25,000,000			25,000,000
Monoline Insurers [Member]
Claims subject to review by SCC, amount	53,000,000			53,000,000
Indemnity Agreement With Single Counterparty [Member]
Reserve for losses on repurchases	49,800,000			49,800,000
Additional Information Requested by Counterparty [Member]
Claims subject to review by SCC, amount	$ 30,000,000			$ 30,000,000