Q&A with Tim Vandecasteele - Chief Product Officer of Silverfin

Q&A with Silverfin co-founder and Chief Product Officer Tim Vandecasteele

Q&A with Tim Vandecasteele - Chief Product Officer of Silverfin
5min Read

You’ve probably heard the exciting news that Silverfin is joining the Visma family. We caught up with our co-founder Tim to reflect on the company’s journey so far and get his thoughts on the future.

Q. As co-founder, how do you reflect on the last 10 years? 

A. I’m incredibly proud of what Silverfin has become.  It does feel a little surreal to think that this whole thing started with me, Joris, a white board and a big idea that accountancy was ready for digital disruption.  And now here we are…  10 years later, Silverfin is a successful multinational technology company with a market-leading cloud platform.

The numbers speak for themselves really: 850 firms around the world today use Silverfin, from the big 4 to local single office firms, all of whom are supporting over 320,000 businesses on the platform.  That’s no small feat.

Q. What do you think has been key to Silverfin’s success?

A. It may sound like a cliche, but you can have the best tech in the world, but it’s the people that really make the difference and have made Silverfin what it is today.

The team here are just so passionate and committed, and it shines through in everything they do.

Accountants, no matter where they are, value personal relationships.  All along, we wanted to avoid being just transactional, and focus instead on connecting with the people we’re trying to help.

Q. And what about technology… how has Silverfin carved out a niche in the market?  
A. There are obviously lots of dimensions to this, but I’d pick out four things which have helped to differentiate us.

1. Silverfin is customisable.  We wanted to build a solution that was country-agnostic, so it could handle the different tax and accounting standards in each region. We came up with this idea of having a platform with core functionality, and a customisation layer that allows either Silverfin or our customers to easily build content for local market needs.  That’s how we’ve scaled across 15 countries until now.

2. It’s an open API-driven platform too. We wanted the platform to be easy to integrate with. So partners can build products to work with Silverfin, and customers can easily connect it into their tech stack and different data sources.

3. We wanted to ensure a user-friendly experience that made it easy for non-technical accountants to get started.  A lot of legacy software is a bit ‘clunky’ to say the least, and we felt accountants deserved better.

4. The last point is around structured data. This is really what Silverfin is all about. Connecting and automating compliance workflows, firm-wide reporting and analytics, AI… this is all made possible thanks to having data standardised into a single, queryable source of truth.

Q. Looking forwards, what factors are going to shape the next few years?

A. Two words… Artificial Intelligence!  AI is obviously going to bring rapid and significant change to the profession, and all other sectors too.

From a product development perspective, we’ll be exploring all areas to see where AI can help accountants day-to-day – automating and speeding up tasks, uncovering insights, freeing up capacity so that more time can be devoted to creating new value for clients.

And of course this rapid progress in cloud-based technologies is just going to accelerate the demise of on-premise solutions. Any firm left relying on desktop software is going to be left behind.

From an industry perspective, I expect to see consolidation continue. And this is a trend which actually plays into our sweet spot:  we’ve seen how after any merger or acquisition, standardisation is critical – of data, of processes and systems.

And not forgetting the battle for talent. Accounting, perhaps more than most sectors, faces a skills shortage.  This challenge of how to attract, train and retain the right people will continue to be a defining factor, and underscores just why new technologies like AI are so critical.

Q. What can we expect from Silverfin moving forward?

A. In short, we’ll continue to do what has proved so successful so far. This means…

– Strengthening our market-leading position in Belgium: adding more powerful capabilities in areas like Silverfin Assistant, Insights etc to help our existing customers get more value from their ongoing investment in our software.

– Expanding our footprint in the UK. It’s exciting to see more and more firms joining us, a testament to our growing product portfolio. Recent launches of Corporation Tax and Silverfin Assistant have really helped build momentum, and there’s much more to come.

– Growing our product offering and presence in key emerging markets like the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

– And finally, continuing to be the partner of choice for large global firms who need the ability to develop localised compliance solutions for their markets – but crucially, built on a core cloud platform which can service multiple geographies in a standardised, repeatable way.

This is exactly why we created our unique low-code approach and ‘developer accountant’ tools, and we’re eagerly looking forward to expanding into new markets over the coming months with this proposition.

Exciting times ahead!

More Posts

EP 8 – How AI is shaping the future of Silverfin: insights from Martin Nielson and Nick Meerlaean, Silverfin

EP 8 – How AI is shaping the future of Silverfin: insights from Martin Nielson and Nick Meerlaean, Silverfin

AI is playing a pivotal role in the evolution of Silverfin’s products, as outlined by both Nick Meerlaen, Product Manager, and Martin Lysholt, VP of ...
Read More
Thomas Worthington UK Product lead

5 Product Trends from Accountex 2025 That Actually Matter (And What They Say About the Future of Accounting)

Intro Something changed at Accountex this year. Yes, the software demos were slicker. The AI buzz louder. The tote bags more… plentiful. But, the real ...
Read More

Why employee experience is the next big focus for accounting firms

Discover how UK accounting firms are boosting job satisfaction by reducing long hours and stress with transformative technology.
Read More
Business Team Meeting Discussion Working Concept

Cloud collaboration tools for accountants

Effortless collaboration has become an essential tool for accounting companies. Seamless communication and shared access to data and documentation help teams effectively manage deadlines, prepare ...
Read More

Artificial intelligence in accounting: market trends for 2025 and beyond 

Explore the evolving role of artificial intelligence in accounting in the UK, with our market outlook for 2025 and beyond.
Read More
MYOB Partnership

Silverfin announces partnership with MYOB to deliver cloud-first solution to accounting firms in new markets

Silverfin has announced a partnership with MYOB to deliver its cloud-first solution to ANZ accounting firms. Find out more here.
Read More
The best of both worlds - combining Excel and Silverfin

The best of both worlds – combining Excel and Silverfin

Bid farewell to the drudgery of manual data and spreadsheet management and say hello to intelligent digital templates. Learn more today.
Read More

Insights on the future of entrepreneurship: What the UK can learn from Europe

With over 2000 SMEs surveyed across Europe, unlock key insights that can inform UK accountants on how to better serve their clients.
Read More
The future of compliance: How Silverfin is revolutionising Accounts Production

The future of compliance: How Silverfin is revolutionising Accounts Production

Accounting firms today are at a crossroads. While client demands, regulatory pressures, and workloads have evolved dramatically, the tools used to handle core compliance processes ...
Read More

Technology Used in Accounting Firms: 5 Ways AI is Transforming the Industry

Accounting firms are under pressure to manage vast amounts of data while maintaining accuracy and meeting tight deadlines. These challenges can lead to costly errors ...
Read More
time saving finance accounts production

Time-saving tips for accounts production

When accuracy, speed, and compliance are non-negotiable, accounts production can be a time-intensive bottleneck. Manual processes, outdated spreadsheets, and fragmented workflows consume valuable hours, draining ...
Read More
stressed accountant

Minimising manual data entry in accounting with automation

Manual data entry in accounting is notoriously time-consuming and clumsy, prone to errors, duplication, and endless back-and-forth revisions. For companies working to tight deadlines, the ...
Read More

Let’s Chat

Scroll to Top