We managed to catch up with Michael Ford for a Q&A, read his answers below!

XU:

‍Congratulations on the release of the cloud version of Castaway. Compared to previous product builds, how does this one feel?

MF:

Thank you. Ah, what a question. This is the third complete rebuild of Castaway in 15 years and of course a necessary one as the world moves away from desktop products. Building cloud software has been a mammoth challenge, especially for a complex forecasting tool. There’s a different technology language, intricate calculations to wrangle, security, privacy, and legal pathways to navigate. I’m so proud of the product we’ve created, it’s powerful engine and the future-proofing we’ve set up. I can’t say I enjoyed every day of the last 3 or 4 years, but I can see a bit of blue sky now we’ve released.

XU: ‍

Will you share with us what’s new and what we can expect?

MF:

Sure. Castaway cloud is a brand new tool. It’s more powerful than Castaway desktop and we’ve spent time focusing on the user experience. Castaway is known for it’s powerful modeling engine and that’s still there, for sure, but we’ve introduced some incredible dashboard and reporting capability that takes this version way beyond anything we’ve been able to offer with our desktop versions. Castaway is built to enable quick, but robust forecasts with fantastic professional output. Of course, it also delivers the traditional powerful, flexible, robust and thorough forecasts our tools have always been known for.

‍

XU:

You’ve spoken with us before about the impact of COVID on your business and how important collaboration and communication were for the team.
Since then, we’ve seen a global shortage of staff in general, but software engineers in particular. How did Castaway respond to this resource challenge?

MF:

Our engineering and product teams are led well, so we have retained the core teams throughout the cloud build. We did see a bit of a reshuffle as one or two of our staff moved around. We also managed to hire a few excellent staff in all areas of the business. I’m always looking for the right people to join us as we grow. I’m aware there are so many companies like ours in this situation and have spoken to a few peers about how they manage. Things are starting to settle down and, at the same time, collaboration technology is enabling more resourcing options.

XU:

Your passion for the sustainability and health of small businesses has driven your career and delivered your legacy. Do you still feel strongly about small business?

MF:

Absolutely. Nothing has changed for me and there’s so much work to be done. I guess I will always be looking for ways to educate and communicate with businesses and the accountants who serve them. I have hundreds of ideas for tools and processes to help various industries understand business operations and improve financial literacy and performance.

XU:

Where will we see you and the team this year?

MF:

We’ll be exhibiting at Accountex Sydney in March, exhibiting and speaking (hopefully) at Accountex London in May and likely exhibiting at Xerocon Sydney in September. We’ll be out and about speaking and making appearances at other events, but these are our current commitments. We’ll find ourselves on the road a bit more in 2023, keen to connect again with our customers.

XU:

ChatGPT and similar AI tools. What are your thoughts on how these language models will impact the accounting industry?

MF:

Like most people interested in technology, we’ve looked at ChatGPT and I think it’s impressive. The natural language responses are only going to improve and these types of are here to stay. We’ve asked it all sorts of questions and I’m impressed at the standard of output.

AI will augment the routine and repetitive tasks that accountants do, freeing them up for higher-value work requiring thoughts, ideas, decisions and innovation. AI should improve the accuracy of financial reporting and make auditing easy. From a forecasting point of view. AI can certainly help with the maths but not so much the qualitative aspects of financial forecasting or business modeling. Calculators are required for the output, but the process still requires a combination of hindsight, insight and foresight from the business owner for the input.

At the moment, I don’t think accountants and advisors need to be concerned too much about AI taking over their entire roles. Accountants are currently under so much pressure from their clients to deliver all sorts of value. If AI can reduce this pressure, then it’s a great thing for the industry.

‍

XU:

Are you still cycling 10,000km a year?

MF:

It’s only early, but I’m on track to reach 10,000km in 2023. My workload in 2022 prevented me from meeting my cycling and charity leadership responsibilities. This disappointed me because I ride to support Tour de Cure Australia, our chosen charity. We raise funds for cancer research and help to raise the awareness of cancer prevention and the importance of research in communities and schools.