Most of us would like to make a difference; you’d be hard-pressed to find someone that has no interest in helping the world.

But how many of us actually do that?

Harvee Pene is an accountant who has made giving back to the world the central focus of his career. He’s the founder of Inspire, which he hopes to build into “Australia’s most impactful accounting firm”.

How exactly does he do that? First, by saving small Australian businesses literally millions of dollars on their taxes. No small feat. But he’s also heavily involved in some pretty incredible charities. His Day for a Dollar campaign, for example, gives food, water, health or sanitation to families in need. For each dollar of tax that Inspire proactively saves their clients, they will, in turn, help one family for a day.

When Harvee first got into the accounting game, he quickly became disillusioned. “The mission of a lot of the big firms out there was: ‘Let’s screw our clients for as much money as we possibly can,’” he remembers. For somebody who came from nothing and was looking to give back, this wasn’t an industry that he could find himself thriving in.

Now, Harvee preaches the idea of impact. Every business should have its own impact, he says. We live in an interconnected world where our business decisions and choices send ripples throughout the global economy. We no longer have the luxury of standing by idly while people suffer on a global scale.

Unfortunately, most people think that they don’t have the capacity to give back. They say, ‘Once I’ve made it, that’s when I’ll start making a difference.’ The problem with that line of thinking is this: there are nearly a billion people living in extreme poverty today, and we can’t afford to wait. Also, what we often fail to realise is how cheap it can be to help those living at the bottom. Sometimes, providing water or electricity to a family in need can only cost us cents. How much did you spend on your last latte or bottle of water?

Still, Harvee’s mission isn’t about guilting businesses into doing something for the world. In fact, making an impact is something that can help businesses grow, he says. Impact turns into reputation, and a good reputation and network will help your business prosper quicker than anything else.

The goal isn’t to make you ashamed enough that you start donating money. Instead ask yourself: “How can I make my charity a mutually beneficial experience?”

Listen to my entire conversation with Harvee here.