SF-Data-Arch Master Data Management Practice Question
A multinational retailer is consolidating customer master data from eleven country-level Salesforce orgs into a single global org. Each country org has its own account numbering scheme, and legal entities must remain distinguishable for tax reporting. Which MDM design should the architect recommend to reconcile the identifiers while preserving legal-entity separation?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that a unique Salesforce record ID is sufficient as a master identifier when the requirement also demands traceability back to each source system's original number.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Introduce a global master identifier and store each country's original account number as a cross-reference attribute on the account record.
Consolidating heterogeneous source systems calls for a neutral surrogate master identifier plus cross-reference attributes that retain each source system's original key. This avoids collisions between country numbering schemes, keeps political decisions out of the technical design, and preserves the traceability that tax reporting and reconciliation demand. Reusing one country's scheme or discarding legacy numbers both break auditability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create eleven separate account record types, one per country, and use the combination of record type plus the original country number as the composite key.
Why it's wrong here
A composite key of record type plus country number is workable in principle, but it embeds the source-system structure into the master design and makes cross-country reporting cumbersome. It also ties the identity of a customer to a record type that may need to change if the customer relocates or is reclassified, forcing key changes. A neutral global identifier with cross-references is cleaner and more stable.
- ✗
Use the Salesforce record ID generated on insert as the global identifier and discard the country-level numbers after migration.
Why it's wrong here
Discarding the country-level numbers destroys the audit trail that tax reporting and source-system reconciliation depend on. While the Salesforce record ID is unique and stable, it carries no business meaning and cannot be used to trace a record back to the originating country org. The requirement to keep legal entities distinguishable and auditable makes this option unsuitable.
- ✓
Introduce a global master identifier and store each country's original account number as a cross-reference attribute on the account record.
Why this is correct
A new surrogate global key avoids collisions and political disputes, while preserving each legacy number as a cross-reference attribute maintains traceability for tax reporting and downstream reconciliation. This is the canonical MDM pattern for consolidating heterogeneous source systems: assign a neutral master identifier and retain source-system keys as mappings so any record can be traced back to its origin.
- ✗
Adopt the largest country org's account number as the global identifier and remap all other orgs' accounts to it during migration.
Why it's wrong here
Choosing one country's numbering scheme as the global key creates a political and operational problem, and it conflates the retailer's internal identifier with the legal-entity identity required for tax reporting. Accounts from other countries that happen to share a numeric value would collide, and the scheme provides no mechanism to keep the eleven original identifiers traceable after migration, which most tax authorities expect.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Salesforce exam blueprint
This SF-Data-Arch practice question is part of Courseiva's free Salesforce certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SF-Data-Arch exam.