What is a Single Source of Truth?

Company data & APIs
Master company data
3 min read

The short answer

A single source of truth is the designated authoritative representation for a defined set of information.

Single Source of Truth: why it matters

Automated company-data workflows need clear meanings and traceable transformations. An operation that runs successfully can still produce a result that is unsuitable for the intended business question.

How to assess it in practice

State the scope of authority and how updates are governed rather than assuming one source is best for every field. Start by defining the question the team needs to answer. Identify the relevant record or evidence, check its scope and date, and retain the reasoning behind the result. If evidence conflicts, keep that conflict visible for review.

Worked example

Illustrative workflow: a team reviewing a business adds a separate check for single source of truth. The reviewer’s task is to state the scope of authority and how updates are governed rather than assuming one source is best for every field. The outcome is recorded together with the supporting evidence; an unresolved question stays open rather than being converted into a positive result.

Illustrative scenario

A CRM is authoritative for account ownership while a registry supplies legal identity. Document that separation instead of treating the CRM as the original source of incorporation facts.

Distinctions that matter

Single Source of Truth belongs to the master company data topic family. Read Master Data Management (MDM) alongside it to understand the adjacent question. Each page has its own intended scope; shared context does not make the concepts equivalent.

Evidence and review output

Review these

Entity model and stable keys
Field authority and survivorship
History and downstream mappings

The review should produce

A governed company representation that preserves the evidence behind selected values and relationships.

Across this family

A shared company model needs explicit entity boundaries, attribute ownership and conflict rules. Separate original sources from mastered values and commercial accounts. Governance makes the record usable across teams; placing data in one table does not by itself resolve contradictory meanings.

A note from practice

A trusted reference needs explicit authority by attribute and scope. One platform may coordinate decisions without being the original source for every field or eliminating the need for historical evidence.

Limits and common mistakes

The practical boundary is important: State the scope of authority and how updates are governed rather than assuming one source is best for every field. Do not substitute a related label for this check or assume that missing information is a negative finding. Source-specific and jurisdiction-specific rules require their own review.

Frequently asked questions

Which evidence should I review?

For this topic, focus on entity model and stable keys, field authority and survivorship, history and downstream mappings. The relevant source and dates should be retained with the finding.

How is Single Source of Truth different from Firmographic Data?

Firmographic data describes characteristics of organisations, such as industry, location or size, within a defined scope. The distinction matters because the evidence needed for that concept may not resolve the question addressed on this page.

What should the result of the review contain?

A governed company representation that preserves the evidence behind selected values and relationships. Preserve material conflicts instead of replacing them with an unexplained success flag.

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