Is it bad to use redundant relationships?

Question

Suppose I have the following tables in my database:

Now all my queries depend on Company table. Is it a bad practice to give every other table a (redundant

Answer 1

I'd say not in the OP's case, but sometimes it's useful (just like goto ;).

An anecdote:

I'm working with a database where most tables have a foreign key pointing to a root table for the accounts. The account numbers are external to the database and aren't allowed to be changed once issued. So there is no danger of changing the account numbers and failing to update all references in the DB. I also find that it is also considerably easier to grab data from tables keyed by account number instead of having to do complex and costly joins up the hierarchy to get to the root account table. But in my case, we don't have so much a foreign key as an external (i.e., real world) identifier, so it's not quite the same as the OP's situation and seems suitable for an exception.