Held in Liverpool each year, The Finance Director of the Year Awards were created to celebrate the outstanding and often overlooked work done by Finance Directors in the North West & North Wales. Amy Wall, Ripstone’s Finance Director, picked up the prestigious award at the annual ceremony last week.
Amy’s work has been instrumental in a year in which Ripstone’s team has almost doubled in size, and her positive experience within the industry has led to her becoming a strong advocate for the incredible range of career pathways we have in our sector.
Like many who have joined the games industry from other sectors, Amy has been inspired by the incredible creativity she’s seen since joining Ripstone in 2018.
On this, she said, “What’s special about it is that we get to work with people that are hugely creative and so passionate about what they do. As a finance director, it’s an amazing feeling and really rewarding to have a hand in facilitating that creativity.”
She added, “In terms of the work itself, no industry is like the video games industry. At Ripstone everyone can get involved in everything. It doesn’t even matter what job role you’re in.
I’m not going to be able to make you a game but I might have a few ideas and suggestions and I know here – if it’s a good suggestion – it will be used. It’s inspiring to see that genuine team approach. It’s one that values the opinions of everyone. It helps us in everything that we do.”
Continuing an Award-Winning Year
Amy’s award completes a trio of wins for Ripstone over the last few months.
On her win, she said “I still can’t believe it! I was made up to even be nominated. It’s come as such a big surprise.
It’s been a great year for Ripstone. We’ve won quite a few awards across a number of departments recently, so it’s fantastic to have been able to bring one home for the finance team as well.”
Amy added, “the nomination came from outside of our company, and I have no idea who put me forward. We were the only game developers to be shortlisted for an award, ”
Highlighting Opportunities in the Games Industry
Amy’s award completes a trio of wins for Ripstone over the last few months.
On her win, she said “I still can’t believe it! I was made up to even be nominated. It’s come as such a big surprise.
It’s been a great year for Ripstone. We’ve won quite a few awards across a number of departments recently, so it’s fantastic to have been able to bring one home for the finance team as well.”
Amy added, “the nomination came from outside of our company, and I have no idea who put me forward. We were the only game developers to be shortlisted for an award, ”
“We’ve been fortunate to have doubled in size in the last 12 months – and we’re still recruiting. A big part of that growth has involved hiring people that hadn’t previously considered the games industry. In areas such as production, marketing, HR, and QA, our team now includes some incredible, talented people without prior experience in games.
It’s really got me thinking about how we can convince even more people to make the switch. It’s something I’m so glad I did. Finance is so different to making video games – they are worlds apart – yet I come into the office every single day feeling excited to work.”
The announcement continues an award-winning year for Ripstone, with Ripstone Artist Jake Parrot winning MCV/DEVELOP 30 Under 30 award, and the company itself receiving a second consecutive GI.Biz Best Places to Work Award.