For H&R Block, Inc.

Organizational Assessment

Final Project Assignment, Harrison College

Debra Moulder12/14/2011

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Organizational Assessment

More than fifty years ago, a decision was made to put forth a new plan to help working

individuals and small businesses find solutions to their bookkeeping needs. You would not find

the same numbers of resources back then as you can today. There are hundreds of different types

of bookkeeping services including tax preparation online, in stores, and those that are offered by

numerous CPA firms and individuals. There is also a selection of competitive software systems

that can be purchased and saved to a desktop computer. There is one bookkeeping service that

has come along way and is still growing fifty-five years later.

History

At the age of 24, one man by the name of, “Henry Wollman Bloch”, borrowed money

from his aunt to start a new business with only a five thousand dollar loan and named it “The

United Business Company”. The business was only meant to practice bookkeeping and

accounting services to small businesses. Later, finding out that the office of the Internal Revenue

Service of Kansas City, Missouri advertised in the local Kansas City Star newspaper they were

no longer offering free tax preparation services. From that day forward, a new firm was started

and The United Business Company became, “H & R Block, Inc.” (HR Block Digital LLC , 2010).

Vision

A simple goal was to make a difference by creating something that would last. The Bloch

brothers just wanted to be the world’s leading provider of financial services through tax and

accounting based advisory relationships. A dream became a reality on Main street in Kansas City

and H&R Block prides itself in developing and producing innovative and highly sophisticated

systems, commercial products and services to meet the deversified needs of clients all over the

world.

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Mission

Our Mission is to help our clients achieve their financial objective by serving as their tax

and financial partners. We strive to make sure our clients get the respect and consideration they

deserve the minute they walk into our office. We all share a responsibility to provide the highest

quality products and services for the benefit of our clients we serve around the world

internationally and domestically.

Values

These are simple values that build a company, establish an industry, and create a brand

that is known to people around the world. There is nothing more important to H&R Block’s

future than incorporating our values in everything we do. Our values guide each of us in the way

we serve our clients and treat each other with these in mind: Client Focused, Excellence,

Integrity, Respect, and Teamwork. H&R Block’s values are our set of basic beliefs that define

what is important, what is wrong, and what is unimportant. Our values are a guide of principles

to help let us know how to behave, identify things we need to pay more attention to, and help

make appropriate business decisions professionally.

Commitment Plan

First Impression-Smile on the phone and while greeting clients.

Last Impression-Power of 3, Own every client’s problems and resolve, solidify every

client’s relationship by asking them to make an appointment for the following year.

Personalizaion-Pronounce the clients name when each opportunity arrises, serve clients

how they want to be served to accommodate their preferences.

Price/Value-Client understanding of price, Demonstation of value of the price client pays.

Brand Value-Maintain office standards for office cleanliness and organization.

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Organizational Structure

We choose to start by helping hundreds of millions of Americans improve their financial

lives along the way with the type financial and accounting products and services that is needed.

The idea is to surround ourselve’s with the right people, practice the right ethics , and focus on

the right actions to better serve our customers and clients. Also, to provide the type of service for

people so they will know we are their financial advisors and will assist them as long as they

chose to return as our clients each new tax season.

Leadership

As a leader, Henry Wollman Bloch, built a fortress that has expanded into a huge success

that provides financial services to all walks of life. More than

24.5 million tax returns prepared in more than eleven-thousand

retail offices and with digital tax solutions. With a legacy of

leadership and commitment, he once said, “I’ve always wanted to

do something different, something more than just a job,

something to contribute to society” (College, 2011). Henry is

still committed to building stronger communities in addition to

building a successful business.

He was born and raised in Kansas City and still resides there with his wife and children.

He has worked very hard to build the foundation for the business and his family. Through he

years as a co-founder, he not only helped to build H&R Block, but he also has

Financial Overview

For the fiscal 2011 for December, the net income and revenues are holding at 3.8 billion

US dollars which is down from 2008 of 4.4 billion US dollars.

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Perception of the Organization

H&R Block maintains 100,000 trained tax professionals that recievd10 million total

hours of trainting in a year. The average client is consulted by a tax prfessional with more than

eight years of exereince and 450 hours of training. The IRS requires that paid tax preparers get

15 hours of training annually, while H&R Block requires 24 hours of training annually in order

to be re-hired.

By 1962, there was 206 offices world wide. H&R Block world headquarters project

sparked the development of the $850 million Power & Light District in

which it is located which is One H&R Block way, Kansas City,

Missouri at 13th and Main streets as a 17 –story structure that was

completed in July of 2006 with green glass exterior and 10, 318 pieces

of stone measuring 30” by 30”. According to Sarah Goddard, there is a

new kid on the Time Square block. She confims plans were made to

build a new stucture in New York City located at 555 Seventh Avenue

with a square foot of 2,635 feet to enhance the client experience (Goddard, 2011).

Products and Services

Since the first day H&R Block was established; tax laws, regulations, policies, and the

code of ethics were created and put into place because of the discrepancies in tax return

preparation wrongdoings. There are reasons why the IRS has tightened the ropes for certain

services relating to fast loans. Although, the laws will always change, H&R Block continues to

try harder to keep up with the demand. Since 1955, new services have been added such as H&R

Block at home online and as a desktop software.

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Other products includes:

W-2 Early Access—New Free online service to electronically send a copy of W-2’s to a tax office. Clients can receive their W-2’s up to 3 weeks earlier than when they would receive them in the mail. Access to approximately 80 million W-2’s through a new service.

H&R Block Emerald Savings® --Prepaid card with year-round use. Includes elgibility foremployer payroll direct deposit, availability for reloading funds, and ability to transfer to/from savings.

H&R Block Emerald Advance® Line of Credit—Year-round line of credit that allows clients the ability to repeatedly borrow and repay money up to a maximum credit limit. Clients can apply for a line of credit up to $1,000 US dollars during the promotional period.

Second Look® Review—Accurate returns are covered with the H&R Block Guarantee. Look for promotional coupons for a free Second Look review.

H&R Block Guarantee—Included in every tax return, Reimbursement for penalties and interest charges due to H&R Block’s error; provides audit assistance(not as a legal representive).

Peace of Mind® Extended Service Plan—Available for free, Will represent client at an audit(with Power of Attorney)

Tax Audit Support—Audit Assistance.

Form 1040EZ—Will be free for tax filers that have one form W-2 and no dependants. The promotion only covers those filing the 1040EZ federal form, which is about 16% of H&R Block customers (STEVERMAN, 2011).

The company today, H&R Block, is dedicated to being the most trusted, state-of the art

tax preparation firm at the best value. In addition to its more than 13,000 retail tax offices, they

tried to acquire the online tax software, TaxCut, but that fell through. Also, The consulting

services that was provided by RSM McGladrey was sold for a good chunk of change recently.

There have been a few changes within the last couple of years regarding the business processes

and services. In 2010, the Instant Rapid Anticipation Loans were revoked and are no longer

available. Now, a new addition of H&R Block Bank will handle the processing of loans, savings

associate savings acounts, and some other products. Master Card is still a provider of the FDIC

Emeral debit cards for the processing of tax return refunds and Emerald Advance Loans. Even

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though, there was a slight loss of revenue in the last two years, there was an increase in new

clients and prior returning clients.

H&R Block is still rising above the rest and is considered the #1 tax preparation services

in the world. It’s rivals have jumped back for technicalities that put a damper on the finances and

stability. The technology in todays society increases the changes that take place in the electronic

world. More and more people are logging on to social networks, downloading applications for

mobile phone devices, and creating profile after profile just to keep up with the traffic on the

internet.

Nothing beats a moment of texting though in a time of communication chaos. That is

another world all on its own. And as crazy as it seems, H&R Block is joining the e-mail and

texting craze. That is a new thing this year with the downloading applications, now you can

download a tax form and file it straight from your iPod, iPhone, or Droid. It was already part of

the eroding technology waiting to happen type thing any how. Now, it is really official and has

been posted In The News.

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REFERENCES

HR Block Digital LLC . (2010). The American Dream that Began on One Main Street Now Lives on Main Streets Everywhere. Retrieved December 11, 2011, from HR Block: http://www.hrblock.com/press/PrintPreview.jsp?ArticleID=47828

College, W. J. (2011, April 19). Henry W. Bloch. Retrieved December 14, 2011, from Department of Business Leadership: http://jewell.edu/gen/william_and_jewell_generated_pages/Business_Department_Henry_W._Bloch_p6733.html

Goddard, S. (2011). H&R Block goes Times Square chic. Display & Design Ideas , Vol 23 (April/May), Pg. 22-22.

Parekh, R. (2010). UNLIKE IRS, H&R BLOCK'S TAX STATEMENT IN PLAIN ENGLISH. (J. Rooney, Ed.) Advertising Age , 18 (3), 14-14.

STEVERMAN, B. (2011, January 14). WHAT'S BEHIND H&R BLOCK'S FREE TAX SERVICE. Retrieved December 14, 2011, from BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK: http://www.businessweek.com/print/investor/content/jan2011/pi20110114_944345.htm