I bought and sold stock in a trust last year and the tax instructions that were sent from the trust said that I needed to request an "accrual based" 1099 misc instead of the "cash based" 1099 that my broker likely sent. Since I bought and sold the stock in the same year, I'm wondering if it even matters. Any thoughts?

In the same year then no difference;Form 1099 reporting is to be done on the cash method and NOT on the accrual method. you report actual payments made, NOT accrued amounts. 1099's are reportable on cash basis, i.e., amounts paid. The payor's accounting method has nothing to do with it, since the object is to report income to the IRS relative to the payee. However, 1099 income accrued in year 1 paid in year 2 do not get reported on the sch c until year 2, regardless of whether or not they have been expensed in year 1 by the payor.