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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Management Accounting · Sources of data

Which of the following is an example of information that is both a primary source and external to the organisation?

A survey carried out by the company among its customers is both primary and external. The company collects the data itself for its own purpose, making it primary, and the respondents are outside the organisation. Government statistics and competitor reports are secondary, and payroll data is internal.

  1. AA report from the company's own payroll system
  2. BA survey carried out by the company itself among its customersCorrect
  3. CGovernment published statistics on inflation
  4. DA competitor's annual report read by the company

Explanation

Primary data is collected first-hand for a specific purpose, and external means it comes from outside the organisation. A company-run customer survey fits both. Payroll is internal, government statistics and competitor reports are secondary sources collected by others.

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