Enabling value enhancement of reference data by employing scalable cleansing and evolutionarily tracked source data tags

This invention describes a system for improving the quality and usefulness of reference data, like financial information, by systematically cleaning and standardizing it from various sources. It works by keeping a detailed, evolving record of every change made to each piece of data, including where it came from and what processes altered it. This tracking information can also be used to control who can access or use specific data elements.