Mark Ernst Quotations

We believe that it is prudent to take a cautious view of the fourth quarter.

We've seen an industry-wide slower start to the tax filing season than in previous years. Early season operating challenges experienced in our tax business further hurt our January comparative results.

Make no mistake - we believe in the Express IRA product and are proud of the opportunities it presents for our clients.

We made changes to enhance the performance of the service online, and we introduced a technical glitch that in very, very, very limited cases was causing client files to be mixed with others,

We are moving our distribution network closer to our clients,

Offering banking services extends and strengthens the H&R Block brand and can benefit our clients who have limited access to basic banking and savings services.

After a disappointing January, we are meeting our expectations, with February results comparable to those in the prior year.

The mix of clients we're serving indicates that a greater number of more complex tax returns is driving an increase in the average fee per client, ... Overall, the results thus far are on track with our expectations for the tax season.

Initial numbers indicate that we increased our share of both the overall tax services market and the market for paid preparation,

The changes we're making will help ensure the long-term competitiveness of our mortgage businesses.