Commitments And Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2013

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments And Contingencies

11.  Commitments and Contingencies   

Changes in deferred revenue balances related to our Peace of Mind (POM) program, the current portion of which is included in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities and the long-term portion of which is included in other noncurrent liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets, are as follows:  

				(in 000s)
Nine months ended January 31,		2013		2012
Balance, beginning of period	$	141,080	$	140,603
Amounts deferred for new guarantees issued		14,202		19,471
Revenue recognized on previous deferrals		(57,505)		(57,254)
Balance, end of period	$	97,777	$	102,820

In addition to amounts accrued for our POM guarantee, we had accrued $14.9 million and $16.3 million at January 31, 2013 and April 30, 2012, respectively, related to our standard guarantee, which is included with our in-office tax preparation services. The current portion of this liability is included in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities and the long-term portion is included in other noncurrent liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets,

We have accrued estimated contingent payments totaling $10.9 million and $6.8 million as of January 31, 2013 and April 30, 2012, respectively, related to recent acquisitions, with the short-term amount recorded in accounts payable, accrued expenses and deposits and the long-term portion included in other noncurrent liabilities. Estimates of contingent payments are typically based on expected financial performance of the acquired business and economic conditions at the time of acquisition. Should actual results differ materially from our assumptions, future payments made will differ from the above estimate and any differences will be recorded in our results from continuing operations.

We have contractual commitments to fund certain franchisees requesting revolving lines of credit. Our total obligation under these lines of credit was $90.0 million at January 31, 2013, and net of amounts drawn and outstanding, our remaining commitment to fund totaled $13.5 million.  

We have contractual commitments to fund our credit card customers on their approved revolving lines of credit. Our total obligation under the credit card agreements was $30.5 million at January 31, 2013, and net of amounts outstanding, our remaining commitment to fund totaled $7.4 million.

We maintain compensating balances related to the 2012 CLOC, which are not legally restricted as to withdrawal. These balances totaled $0.4 million as of January 31, 2013.   

We routinely enter into contracts that include embedded indemnifications that have characteristics similar to guarantees. Other guarantees and indemnifications of the Company and its subsidiaries include obligations to protect counterparties from losses arising from the following: (1) tax, legal and other risks related to the purchase or disposition of businesses; (2) penalties and interest assessed by federal and state taxing authorities in connection with tax returns prepared for clients; (3) indemnification of our directors and officers; and (4) third-party claims relating to various arrangements in the normal course of business. Typically, there is no stated maximum payment related to these indemnifications, and the terms of the indemnities may vary and in many cases are limited only by the applicable statute of limitations. The likelihood of any claims being asserted against us and the ultimate liability related to any such claims, if any, is difficult to predict. While we cannot provide assurance we will ultimately prevail in the event any such claims are asserted, we believe the fair values of guarantees and indemnifications relating to our continuing operations are not material as of January 31, 2013.   

Variable Interests  

We evaluated our financial interests in variable interest entities (VIEs) as of January 31, 2013 and determined that there have been no significant changes related to those financial interests.