On Friday 7 August, the Matthews Steer team came together at RACV Club Melbourne for our annual RER Awards Night — an evening dedicated to recognising the people, achievements and values that make our firm what it is.
RER stands for Recognise, Encourage and Reward. More than an awards night, it is an opportunity to acknowledge the people who contribute to our culture, support their colleagues, develop themselves and others, and consistently go above and beyond for our clients and our business.
This year, we celebrated an outstanding group of award winners and recognised five internal promotions, including the appointment of two new Partners.
Most importantly, we celebrated the people behind Matthews Steer.
Ben Tripicchio named Employee of the Year
The highlight of the evening was recognising Ben Tripicchio as Matthews Steer Employee of the Year.
The Employee of the Year Award recognises someone who does more than contribute to our culture — they actively help shape it. It recognises leadership potential, initiative, a willingness to take responsibility, a commitment to best practice and an ability to build strong relationships across the business.
Ben embodies those qualities.
Ben joined Matthews Steer four years ago as an Undergraduate Accountant and has progressed through the firm to his current role as Senior Accountant. He has continued to maintain strong client service standards while managing the increased demands of his role, studies and professional development. Ben also contributes to the development of others, including assisting with workflow allocation and review processes for our VBP graduates.
Ben’s contribution to the culture of Matthews Steer has also been recognised previously, having won the Contribution to Culture Award in 2025 and Most Significant Personal Growth Award in 2024.
Feedback from his colleagues reflects the qualities that made him this year’s Employee of the Year. He is approachable, willing to take on whatever is needed, builds relationships across the business and takes his professional development seriously.
Ben’s recognition is a great example of what the Employee of the Year Award represents: not simply being a high performer, but using that performance to contribute to the people and culture around you.
Welcoming two new Partners
The evening also marked an important milestone for Matthews Steer, with Joseph Seneca and Anthony Seneca both promoted to Partner.
It is not often that a firm welcomes two new Partners at the same time. It is even less common when those two Partners happen to be brothers.
Both Joseph and Anthony joined Matthews Steer in 2019 and have spent the past seven years building their careers, developing strong client relationships and making significant contributions to the firm.
Joseph Seneca | Partner
Joseph joined Matthews Steer as a Supervisor and has consistently demonstrated leadership through his actions.
His promotion recognises not only his technical capability and client relationships, but the way he supports the people around him. Joseph is someone who steps up when the team is under pressure, takes responsibility and contributes to the broader success of the firm.
As CEO, Jack Delmo noted when presenting Joseph’s promotion, “Leadership through actions” has been one of the defining characteristics of Joseph’s career at Matthews Steer.
Anthony Seneca | Partner
Anthony joined Matthews Steer as a Senior Accountant and has built a reputation for professionalism, organisation, technical expertise and strong client relationships.
His promotion recognises the trust he has earned from both clients and colleagues, as well as his willingness to share knowledge and help others understand the thinking behind complex problems.
Anthony has also made a significant contribution to the culture of Matthews Steer over the years, having previously been recognised as Employee of the Year and through our Humorous Awards.
As Jack Delmo reflected during the presentation, “Partnership is about trust.” It is about becoming someone clients trust with their most important problems, someone their team can rely on when things become difficult, and someone who makes the people around them better.
Recognising career progression and personal growth
Alongside our new Partners, three other team members were recognised for their progression within Matthews Steer.
Daniel De Vito was promoted to Senior Accountant. Joining Matthews Steer in September 2024 as an Intermediate Accountant, Daniel has quickly taken on increasingly complex client work and Virtual CFO engagements.
He has also demonstrated a growing commitment to developing others through his involvement in buddy roles, new starter inductions and training. His promotion recognises his strong work ethic, technical development and willingness to step into responsibility.
Josef Mackenzie was promoted to Senior Accountant. Joining Matthews Steer in January 2025 as a Graduate Accountant, Josef progressed to Intermediate Accountant in January 2026 before reaching Senior Accountant in July.
His progression reflects his ability to learn quickly, take ownership and move confidently into increasingly complex work. He has also played an important role in supporting the development of our VBP offshore accountants and will travel to Cebu this month to provide one-on-one training.
William Harvey was promoted to Manager, just 12 months after joining Matthews Steer as a Senior Accountant and Client Manager.
William has quickly established himself through his technical expertise, leadership and ability to manage complex client work. His clear communication, strong work ethic and willingness to support others have seen him take on the role of team leader.
These promotions are an important part of recognising career development within Matthews Steer. They also reflect something we highly value: creating opportunities for people to grow their skills, take on greater responsibility and build a long-term career with the firm.
Celebrating our 2026 RER Award winners
Our promotions were only part of the evening. It was a privilege to celebrate the individuals whose contributions, progress and leadership stood out this year.
Contribution to Culture Award — Michaela Geary
Michaela Geary was recognised with the Contribution to Culture Award for the warmth, energy and collaboration she brings to Matthews Steer.
Joining the firm in November 2025, Michaela quickly became an important part of the workplace, creating a positive and supportive environment and championing our values through her everyday interactions.
As one colleague described it, Michaela is a natural leader whose energy is infectious — particularly important given she is often one of the first points of contact for both our team and our clients.
Contribution to Community Award — Amalia O’Neill
The Contribution to Community Award recognises our commitment to our purpose: Empowering our community to live their potential.
This year’s award went to Amalia O’Neill, recognising her ongoing contribution to the community outside her role at Matthews Steer.
Before joining Matthews Steer, Amalia worked as a volunteer at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, supporting its events team. Since joining Matthews Steer, she has continued to volunteer at member and fundraising events.
Accepting the award, Amalia spoke about the importance of giving back, supporting people who are less fortunate and the personal rewards that come from contributing to the community.
Most Significant Personal Growth Award — Josef Mackenzie
Josef Mackenzie was also recognised with the Most Significant Personal Growth Award, voted on by the Matthews Steer team.
The award recognises someone who is willing to learn, embraces new responsibilities and is actively working towards their aspirations.
Josef’s rapid career progression, together with his growing responsibility for complex client work and development of our offshore team, made him a strong recipient of this year’s award.
Rising Star Awards — Daniel De Vito and Kavya Patel
Reserved for people who have made a significant enough impression to warrant special recognition for their performance, commitment and potential, the Rising Star Award had two recipients this year: Daniel De Vito and Kavya Patel
Daniel has demonstrated a willingness to take on challenging work, step into special projects and support others. His recent promotion to Senior Accountant further reflects his rapid development.
Kavya joined Matthews Steer as a Graduate Accountant and progressed to Intermediate Accountant in May 2026. She has shown a strong willingness to learn, respond to feedback and contribute to the team, including playing an integral role in the Xero transition and helping develop SMSF procedures.
Both represent the type of emerging talent we are proud to support and develop at Matthews Steer.
Outstanding Contribution Award — Steve Karanja
The Outstanding Contribution Award recognises someone who has become a go-to person across the business — someone who takes pride in their work, gets things done with minimal fuss and consistently contributes beyond their immediate role.
This year’s recipient was Steve Karanja, Senior Client Services Officer and Operations Leader.
Steve has made a significant contribution during a period of change, including navigating transition and developing new reporting. He is also recognised for his approachable manner, strong communication and commitment to knowledge sharing.
More than an awards night
The RER Awards are an opportunity to recognise individual achievements, but they also reflect the broader culture at Matthews Steer — one where people support each other, share knowledge and are encouraged to grow.
For us, recognising our people is an important part of creating a workplace where employees feel valued and can see opportunities to develop their careers.
That culture is something our entire team contributes to every day, and it is what makes nights like this possible.
A special thank you to Adrian Misiano, who once again took on the role of MC and ensured the evening was full of energy, humour and plenty of fun.
And thank you to Sagar Pol, Vera Tolentino and Amalia O’Neill for the time, energy and attention to detail that helped make the event possible.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone at Matthews Steer.
The RER Awards are possible because of the culture our people create every day. The RER Awards are a chance to celebrate individual achievements, but the success of the evening belongs to the whole team.
Congratulations to all our 2026 award winners and promoted team members. We are proud of what you have achieved — and even more excited about what comes next.
Interested in working at Matthews Steer? Visit our Careers page.
