Jamie Davison

In 2014, Jamie Davison met Nathan Hood at a breakfast networking event, and the two businessmen started referring clients to each other. Both had the vision to form a company that provided a holistic service for core business services, and so Carbon Group was established.

Jamie graduated from university with three degrees, putting him in a great position to enter the workplace. Prior to forming Carbon, Jamie launched his first bookkeeping business, Miss Efficiency. The logo was a cartoon girl with purple hair; he’s learned a lot since then, including the importance of branding when building a business!

Jamie then rebranded and relaunched as Fortuna Bravado. This became a successful bookkeeping firm, which Jamie ran from home, with a client base that was rapidly growing. He had the advantage over other bookkeepers of being a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) which essentially meant his clients were having their bookkeeping done by an accountant. At the time, cloud-based accounting software was in its infancy, and Jamie jumped on board as one of the first companies to partner with Xero; and Carbon Group is now the biggest partner in Australia. The use of cloud-based software brought bookkeeping into real-time for a business owner, allowing bookkeepers to add a lot more value, which excited Jamie. He saw the opportunity for the role of a bookkeeper to be more important and pivotal for business success than just being data-entry and used his skills and knowledge as a CPA to put this into practice.

In addition to managing Carbon Group, Jamie spends his time as a board member for multiple tech start-ups, as well as being on the management committee for Perth Angels; a not-for-profit that provides efficient sourcing of investment capital for early-stage investments in Perth. Jamie believes in giving back to the community, so dedicates time for charity work, participating annually in Vinnie’s CEO Sleepout, as well as Oxfam’s 100km trailwalker.

Business tips from Jamie

Technology and automation in the bookkeeping space are changing on an almost weekly basis. If you are running your business the same way you did 12 months ago, systems will have improved and there will be a better way to do it now. Automate what you can – if you are doing anything that involves filling out a form, look for a system that can automate it. Use technology to reduce your workload, or even outsource tasks that you are not good at. The time working out how to do something is much better spent generating new business or spending quality time with your family.

If you truly think you run a cloud-based business then remove pens completely from your office and see if you last 30 days without one.

Industry awards

Jamie’s contribution to the bookkeeping and small business industry has been recognised by multiple awards wins. In addition to Carbon Group’s award wins, Jamie has specifically been recognised with the following:

• National Xero Bookkeeping Partner of the Year
• Business News 40under40 winner, including the winner of the small business category
• Australian Accounting Awards Bookkeeping Firm of the Year
• BRW Fast Starters – ranked 26th
• See the full list of awards here

Get to know Jamie

Jamie grew up in Brisbane, moving over to Perth after the GFC. Here he met his wife, Bec, and they have two beautiful daughters. They love spending time outdoors, particularly caravanning and international travel.