BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

9 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

1.             BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

These condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by Acxiom Corporation (“Registrant,” “Acxiom” or “the Company”), without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “the Commission”).  In the opinion of the Registrant’s management all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the periods included have been made and the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading.  All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature.  Certain note information has been omitted because it has not changed significantly from that reflected in notes 1 through 18 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements filed as part of Item 8 of the Registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 (“2011 Annual Report”), as filed with the Commission on May 27, 2011.  This report and the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in connection with the 2011 Annual Report.  The financial information contained in this report is not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any other period or for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.

Management of the Company has made a number of estimates and assumptions relating to the reporting of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities to prepare these condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.  Actual results could differ from those estimates.  Certain of the accounting policies used in the preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements are complex and require management to make judgments and/or significant estimates regarding amounts reported or disclosed in these financial statements.  Additionally, the application of certain of these accounting policies is governed by complex accounting principles and their interpretation.  A discussion of the Company’s significant accounting principles and their application is included in note 1 and in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, to the Company’s 2011 Annual Report.

On February 1, 2012 the Company completed the sale of its background screening unit, Acxiom Information Security Systems (AISS), to Sterling Infosystems, a New York-based technology firm.  The sale qualified for treatment as discontinued operations during the current fiscal quarter.  The results of operations and the balance sheet amounts pertaining to the AISS business have been classified as discontinued operations in the condensed consolidated financial statements.  Refer to Note 4, Divestitures, for more information regarding the sale.

During the current quarter ending December 31, 2011, the Company realigned its business segments to better reflect the way management assesses the business.  The Company’s new business segments consist of Marketing and Data Services, IT Infrastructure Management, and Other Services.  The Marketing and Data Services segment includes the Company’s global lines of business for Customer Data Integration (CDI), Consumer Insight Solutions, Marketing Management Services, and Consulting and Agency Services.  The IT Infrastructure Management segment develops and delivers IT outsourcing and transformational solutions.  The Other Services segment includes the e-mail fulfillment business, the US risk business, and the UK fulfillment business.