Summary of significant accounting policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Summary of significant accounting policies

Schedule of financial information of the VIEs in the PRC


	As of March 31,
	2019	2020

	(in millions of RMB)
Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments	15,019	16,862
Investments in equity investees and investment securities	28,230	28,071
Accounts receivable, net of allowance	9,540	14,130
Amounts due from non-VIE subsidiaries of the Company	6,398	18,110
Prepayment for licensed copyrights	2,633	2,828
Property and equipment and intangible assets	6,161	6,573
Others	5,992	10,474
Total assets	73,973	97,048

Amounts due to non-VIE subsidiaries of the Company	60,273	76,101
Accruals for purchase of licensed copyrights	3,498	3,327
Accrued expenses, accounts payable and other liabilities	15,042	23,190
Deferred revenue and customer advances	7,213	10,518
Total liabilities	86,026	113,136


	Year ended March 31,
	2018	2019	2020

	(in millions of RMB)
Revenue (i)	32,898	66,674	81,742
Net loss	(6,167)	(7,063)	(1,757)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	5,547	4,163	(253)
Net cash used in investing activities	(20,366)	(8,503)	(7,289)
Net cash provided by financing activities	14,286	12,373	9,887

(i)

Revenue generated by the VIEs are primarily from cloud computing services, digital media and entertainment services, local consumer services and others.

Schedule of estimated useful lives of property and equipment


Computer equipment and software		3 – 5 years
Furniture, office and transportation equipment		3 – 10 years
Buildings		20 – 50 years
Property improvements		shorter of remaining lease period or estimated useful life

Schedule of estimated useful lives of identifiable intangible assets other than licensed copyrights


User base and customer relationships		1 – 16 years
Trade names, trademarks and domain names		3 – 20 years
Developed technology and patents		2 – 7 years
Non-compete agreements		over the contracted term of up to 6 years

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide.

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