Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

3 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2017

Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated balance sheets as of July 31, 2017 and 2016, the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the three months ended July 31, 2017 and 2016, and the consolidated statements of cash flows for the three months ended July 31, 2017 and 2016 have been prepared by the Company, without audit. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of July 31, 2017 and 2016 and for all periods presented have been made.

"H&R Block," "the Company," "we," "our" and "us" are used interchangeably to refer to H&R Block, Inc. or to H&R Block, Inc. and its subsidiaries, as appropriate to the context.

Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) have been condensed or omitted. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in our April 30, 2017 Annual Report to Shareholders on Form 10-K. All amounts presented herein as of April 30, 2017 or for the year then ended are derived from our April 30, 2017 Annual Report to Shareholders on Form 10-K.

Management Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates, assumptions and judgments are applied in the evaluation of contingent losses arising from our discontinued mortgage business, contingent losses associated with pending claims and litigation, reserves for uncertain tax positions and related matters. Estimates have been prepared based on the best information available as of each balance sheet date. As such, actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Seasonality of Business

Our operating revenues are seasonal in nature with peak revenues typically occurring in the months of February through April. Therefore, results for interim periods are not indicative of results to be expected for the full year.

Discontinued Operations

Our discontinued operations include the results of operations of Sand Canyon Corporation, previously known as Option One Mortgage Corporation (including its subsidiaries, collectively, SCC), which exited its mortgage business in fiscal year 2008. See notes 9 and 10 for additional information on litigation, claims and other loss contingencies related to our discontinued operations.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Restricted Cash in Statement of Cash Flows. In November 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-18, "Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force)," (ASU 2016-18). This guidance requires that restricted cash be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. This guidance must be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. We adopted ASU 2016-18 effective May 1, 2017. All prior periods have been adjusted to conform to the current period presentation, which resulted in a decrease in cash used in operations of $17.7 million for the three months ended July 31, 2016.

Stock-Based Compensation. In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-09, "Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting," (ASU 2016-09). This guidance requires that, among other things: (1) all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies would be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement; and (2) excess tax benefits would not be separated from other income tax cash flows and, thus, would be classified along with other cash flows as an operating activity. The transition requirements for this guidance varies by component, but the changes applicable to us were applied prospectively. We adopted ASU 2016-09 effective May 1, 2017 and recorded a discrete tax benefit of $5.1 million during the three months ended July 31, 2017 as a result of this guidance.

Revenue recognition. In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers," (ASU 2014-09) which is a comprehensive new revenue recognition model that requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue which reflects the consideration it expects to receive in exchange for the transfer of the promised goods or services to customers. This ASU also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract, and clarifies guidance for multiple-element arrangements. This guidance will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in GAAP when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for us on May 1, 2018. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method.

We have substantially completed our evaluation of the impact of ASU 2014-09 on our United States (U.S.) assisted tax preparation fees and revenues from POM, and based on the preliminary results of our evaluation, we do not expect the application of this guidance to have a material impact on the recognition of revenue related to these services. Changes to our client agreements or service design before adoption of the new standard could change our preliminary conclusions. We are still evaluating the impact of this guidance as it relates to other revenue streams, as well as certain associated expenses. Depending on the results of our review, there could be changes to the classification and timing of recognition of revenues and expenses related to other revenue streams. We are continuing our assessment, including evaluating the standard's impact on our internal controls and selecting a transition method for adoption.