ICMS Alumnus Thomas Bramley Heads for New York with Xero

Five years ago, Thomas Bramley was graduating from the International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS). Since then, he’s worked at PwC and Deloitte, become a Chartered Accountant and joined Xero. Next stop? New York City. 

New York with global accounting software company Xero in early 2027. 

The New Zealand-born alumnus, who graduated in 2021 with an ICMS Bachelor of Business Management (Accounting), now known as the ICMS Bachelor of Business (Accounting), is preparing to relocate to New York in early 2027 to join global accounting software company Xero. 

It’s the latest move in a career that has progressed quickly, although Thomas is the first to point out that progress rarely happens overnight. 

Returning to ICMS as a guest speaker at the October 2026 graduation, he shared what five years in the workforce have taught him about ambition, setbacks and the importance of simply showing up. 

“In my five years since leaving ICMS, I’ve come to see firsthand that almost anything is attainable. Not easy or instantaneous, but attainable nonetheless.” 

His advice? Pay attention to the “one percenters”. 

The One Percenters That Make a Difference

Thomas has a name for the small things that can make a big difference in a career. 

“Almost nothing worth having arrives with a single leap,” he told graduates. 

He calls these small actions the “one percenters”: asking questions even when you worry they might sound silly, and putting in the effort even when nobody is watching. 

“The one percent that doesn’t require skill, talent or knowledge. It requires heart and a positive attitude towards life and learning.” 

It’s advice backed by his own experience. 

After graduating in 2021, Thomas joined PwC’s Private Tax team in Melbourne, where he began working towards his Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification. 

He subsequently moved to Deloitte’s Business Tax team before completing his CA qualification in September 2024, becoming the first graduate of the ICMS accounting degree to achieve the professional designation. 

He then joined Xero, where he works with accounting and bookkeeping practices, combining his financial expertise with an interest in technology and business. 

His upcoming move to New York will take that experience to an international market. 

A Scholarship, a Change of Direction and an Accounting Career

Thomas’s ICMS story began in 2019 when he moved from Wellington, New Zealand, after receiving the Wellington College Courtney-O’Connor Scholarship. 

He originally enrolled in business studies with a marketing focus, but changed to accounting during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The decision was influenced by his desire to help business owners, including his parents, better understand their finances. 

“I wanted to help small business owners, like my parents, and felt that having a grounding in Accounting was the best way to do that,” he explained in an earlier ICMS interview. 

His education wasn’t confined to lectures and assessments. 

Thomas served as a Resident Leader, worked in the ICMS library, captained the university games touch football team and held positions as President and Treasurer of the Student Representative Council (SRC). 

He also gained practical business experience through the ICMS Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program. 

His professional placement with Langdon Ingredients in Melbourne began in March 2020, just as COVID-19 restrictions were taking effect. 

What was intended to be a rotation through different business departments became an unexpected lesson in adaptability. With much of the business working remotely, Thomas found himself working in manufacturing and warehousing, with shifts beginning at 4am. 

He later worked part-time with Kelly+Partners Northern Beaches, gaining accounting and tax experience before graduating. 

That opportunity proved particularly valuable. 

“This had a huge impact on my career path; I would not be where I am today without this experience and the network of people I gained from working here,” Thomas said in a previous ICMS interview. 

The People You Meet Along the Way

Despite his professional achievements, Thomas believes some of the most valuable things he took away from ICMS weren’t on his academic transcript. 

He spoke about the friendships and connections formed during his studies, and how those relationships can become increasingly important as careers develop. 

“More than these valuable lessons, I would hazard a guess to say that the connections and the memories that you’ve made and gained throughout your time here will be an even more important part of your journey of life.” 

Some of his fellow graduates remain among his closest friends. Others have taken completely different paths. 

For Thomas, that’s part of what makes the next five years so interesting. 

“Five years from now, they’ll be your colleagues, your clients, your collaborators, the friends whose introduction changes everything.” 

His message was simple: stay in touch, take opportunities to connect and don’t underestimate the people sitting beside you. 

Don’t Wait Until You Feel Ready

Thomas also had some words for graduates worried about what comes next. 

He acknowledged that the early years of a career can include rejected applications, failed exams and moments of wondering whether you’ve made the right decision. 

But he encouraged graduates not to mistake uncertainty for failure. 

“Doubt doesn’t mean that you’re off course. It usually means you’re stretching towards something new.” 

He challenged them to say their ambitions out loud, however unlikely those ambitions might seem. 

“The career that seems too ambitious, the city that seems too far, the role that seems to belong to someone else. In five years, that could be your every day, should you choose it to.” 

It’s an idea Thomas knows something about. 

In five years, he’s gone from an accounting graduate to a Chartered Accountant with experience at two major professional services firms and a role with a global technology company. 

And he’s about to find out what New York has in store. 

Here’s to the Next Five Years

Thomas’s career is still in its early stages, and New York is unlikely to be his final ambition. 

In a previous ICMS interview, he spoke about wanting to start his own business one day, bringing together talented people to make a positive difference. 

For now, he’s focused on the opportunities immediately ahead. 

He closed his graduation address with a challenge that applies just as much to his own next chapter. 

“That five years starts today. Not when you feel ready, not when you’ve figured it all out, today.” 

“So focus on what’s in front of you, the next conversation, the next opportunity, the next small step.” 

For Thomas, the next step happens to be New York.