Meet Mary, our fantastic Finance Manager
For our latest ‘Meet the Team’ blog, we sat down with our brilliant Finance Manager, Mary, to find out about her career background, her biggest achievements at Alps and what advice she would give to aspiring Finance professionals.
Hi Mary, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your career background?
Most of my childhood was spent in Hong Kong, so I have always had a passion for languages and learning about different cultures. My favourite subjects at school were Maths and Languages! I did a BA Hons degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies and worked as the manager of a Language School. I then moved to Huddersfield and began my career in Finance at Alps.
So far, what have been your biggest achievements at Alps?
I have been at Alps for almost 16 years, so there are many achievements I am proud of! I think the biggest achievement has been within the last 3 years, when we implemented a new accountancy package at the same time as transitioning to a SaaS business model and the new processes and systems we created as a result of this. It has been an exciting few years!
What have you learned, or how have you grown in your role since working for Alps?
When I joined Alps, I worked as an Administrator. I have enjoyed all the work I have done and the things I have learned on my journey to becoming the Finance Manager of Alps.
What is your favourite thing about working at Alps?
Alps is a very special place to work. It is an inclusive and flexible company, where there are opportunities to be involved in projects with other departments. This helps to build relationships and gel the company as a whole.
“At Alps, you are more than just an employee, you are a person. There are no hierarchical barriers within the company and every member of staff is approachable and we all look out for each other.”
There is a high level of focus on health and staff wellbeing, to ensure we thrive both personally and professionally. Social aspects of the job include the coffee breaks, fortnightly quizzes, walks, and parties. During the pandemic, the virtual social events helped maintain a feeling of community and enabled us to support each other during that challenging time.
What advice would you give aspiring Finance Professionals?
Finance can often be seen as quite a niche area and boring, but it’s anything but! I’ve found that being involved in company-wide projects has raised the visibility and reputation of finance professionals.
If you enjoy working with numbers and solving problems, then finance could be the right path for you. It is something that I have found challenging at times, but good fun and very rewarding when you find the missing piece of the puzzle and everything balances!
Can you tell us a fun fact about yourself?
I walked 6 hours in flipflops through the mountains from Poland to Slovakia, because it only looked 2cm away on the map!
Interested in joining the ever-growing Alps team? Click here to view our latest career opportunities.
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