On Friday, 20 June 2025, our Managing Director and Co-Founder, Rod Sherrington, was recognised as Partner of the Year (Boutique Firm) at the Australian Accounting Awards 2025. For a firm built around helping trade-based, family-owned businesses lift profit and grow with confidence, this recognition matters—because it validates the model our clients experience every quarter. (Awards night date source: Accounting Times’ coverage of the 2025 event). Accounting Times
This post recaps what the award is, why it matters for builders, sparkies, HVAC/mech, cabinet makers and other trade owners—and how Rod’s Coaching with Numbers philosophy shows up in the results our clients see on the ground. (Winner listing and category: Trinity Advisory’s announcement; awards program details: Accountants Daily.) Trinity Advisory news | Accountants Daily — Awards program
Outline
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What the award recognises
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How Rod leads: from compliance to coaching
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The 2024 restructuring: built for scalable client impact
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Coaching with Numbers: how it works in your business
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Community outcomes that reflect our values
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What this means for trade-based owners on the Sunshine Coast & in Cairns
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What’s next + how to work with us
What the award recognises
The Australian Accounting Awards celebrate firms and leaders “driving the accounting industry forward,” with winners selected from 300+ finalists across Australia. The 2025 gala was held at The Star, Sydney on 20 June 2025. Accounting Times | Accountants Daily — Awards program
Rod’s Partner of the Year (Boutique Firm) recognition acknowledges his leadership in reshaping what accounting can be for small, trade-based businesses—less backward-looking scorekeeping, more forward-focused partnership on pricing, margins, cash-flow and leadership rhythm.
How Rod leads: from compliance to coaching
Rod has pushed Trinity to be more than an accounting firm. Under his leadership we’ve redefined service for trade-based owners—shifting from tax-time compliance to quarterly coaching plus management reporting that turns numbers into next steps. If you’ve ever felt everything still runs through you, you’ll recognise the difference.
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See the business: simple monthly packs with job margin, GP% and cash-flow at a glance.
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Price with confidence: hold price, handle variations, protect margin.
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Lead in rhythm: weekly, monthly, quarterly cadences that keep execution on track.
“Coaching with Numbers” is Rod’s shorthand for pragmatic decision-making: tie the advice to the site walk-through, the crew roster, the WIP—and then commit to action before the next quarter.
The 2024 restructuring: built for scalable client impact
To keep delivering outcomes as we grow, Rod led a firmwide reset in 2024:
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Specialised in trade-based businesses—so advice maps to how jobs, crews and call-backs actually work.
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Integrated coaching, advisory and accounting into one service model (our Silver Package, now used by the vast majority of advisory clients).
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Championed AI adoption—internally and with clients—to improve reporting timeliness, forecasting and decision quality.
The aim was simple: sustainable, scalable client results without losing the human touch.
Coaching with Numbers: what it looks like in your business
Every six weeks, Rod is on the ground with clients—walking sites, understanding operations, matching advice to reality. That’s how we identify bottlenecks and translate them into a 90-day plan you can actually execute:
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Pricing hygiene: update rate cards, lock in variation rules, stop unbilled extras.
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Job margin discipline: quote → WIP → invoice with fewer leak points.
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Leadership rhythm: short, regular meetings with the right KPIs—attendance, actions, outcomes.
If you’re curious how this translates to your context, see our Business Coaching page and recent case studies. Business Coaching | Who We’ve Helped
Community outcomes that reflect our values
Rod’s leadership shows up beyond advisory boardrooms. In November 2024, Trinity’s Annual Christmas Charity Luncheon raised $411,000 for the FNQ Hospital Foundation’s Donate for DaNi campaign—taking our cumulative impact past $1.27 million. FNQ Hospital Foundation
Community is not a side project—it’s part of how we operate and a practical expression of our values.
What this means for trade-based owners in Cairns & the Sunshine Coast
Awards are nice. Results are better. Here’s what clients tell us they value:
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Clarity: know true margins by job, by month—make calls faster.
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Confidence: price rises held, variation process followed, fewer callbacks.
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Cadence: a leadership rhythm that keeps the plan moving without everything landing back on you.
If your business is on the Sunshine Coast or in Cairns, and you want accounting that builds the business (not just reports on it), we’d love to talk. Sunshine Coast | Cairns
What’s next—and how to work with us
Rod’s award is a milestone, not an endpoint. We’ll keep refining pricing tools, management reporting that matters, and our quarterly coaching rhythm so trade-based owners can grow margins, improve cash-flow and build leadership capacity.
If you want this operating system working in your company, book a 15-minute call and we’ll map the next best move together. Book a call
FAQ
What does “Boutique Firm” mean in this context?
In the awards program, boutique categories recognise smaller firms delivering outsized impact. (See the Accountants Daily program overview for category structures.)
How is Trinity different from a traditional accountant?
We pair accounting with quarterly coaching and management reporting that drives action, focused on pricing, job margin and cash-flow for trade-based businesses. Business Coaching
I’m not on the Sunshine Coast or in Cairns—can you still help?
We primarily serve Cairns and the Sunshine Coast (with some regional exceptions). Start with a call and we’ll confirm fit. Book a call
Where can I learn more about your community work?
Start here for the 2024 Charity Luncheon and the FNQHF update.