Svetlana JUSIPALIYEVA: take a step and the path will present itself
People say that eternity itself is made up of review periods. And if you think about it, there is neither irony nor exaggeration in this. Svetlana Zhusipalieva, a leading accountant of the Accounting Department of AlES JSC, knows this structuring and regulating role of her profession in her life very well.
– I believe that the profession of accountant is very essential in the national economy of any country. Bookkeeping and accounting is the order of financial activity of any enterprise and any economic entity. Even the family budget requires order and accountability. Otherwise, everything will be a free process, which will not lead to solving the intended tasks and achieving the goals, – says Svetlana Saktapbergenovna.
It was not the shortest and easiest way to become a professional. As a child, she dreamed of being a mathematician, and chose a technical specialty, working as an engineer. But while on maternity leave, she decided to change everything and studied to become an economist. This gave her an understanding of the processes that are subsequently reflected in the figures in the reports. She doesn’t remember when exactly she decided to become an accountant, but she says she didn’t regret a single minute of it.
“I started my career in Uzbekistan, in 1985, after graduating from the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Mechanisation,” Svetlana Zhusipaliyeva shares her professional history. – At first, I worked in the irrigation industry, in construction and maintenance organizations.
I came to the energy sector by chance – after moving to Kapshagai in 2006. Following an advert in the newspaper, I came for an interview at the Kapshagai HPP and was hired as an economist. A year later I transferred to the accounting department, where I am working to this day.
Safety inspector Tatyana Nikolayevna Fomina helped her to get acquainted with the plant quickly. Svetlana was also lucky to have a mentor at Kapshagai HPP: former chief accountant Galina Mikhailovna Khoroshayeva brought her up to speed. And years later Svetlana Saktapbergenovna recalls them with gratitude.
So accounting and economics became her lifelong work – her professional experience in this sphere is more than 34 years. Moreover, her technical education helps her to understand the processes in the energy sector. She says that for all the years of her work there was not a single day when she felt reluctant to go to work. Her working day is strictly scheduled and her priorities are properly allocated. Such a precise organisation allows her to allocate her time wisely and complete all the planned tasks within the working day.
“I like my profession. It suits my character: on the one hand, it requires diligence, attentiveness and meticulousness; on the other hand, it constantly throws up some puzzles, the solution of which allows me to keep my brain in tone and raises my self-esteem.
In my work the most important thing is to fulfill all my tasks correctly, to make calculations and not to get complaints about the performance of my functions. I carefully double-check the results of calculations and reports for errors and compliance with the results of the automated accounting program. I try to do all my work in a timely manner and without errors, so as not to delay and not to take up the time of other colleagues, to value the overall success of the work done”.
Svetlana Zhusipaliyeva is very attentive to her colleagues, respects their work, and they know that they can always approach her with a question or a problem, can rely on her in a difficult situation. Over the years, the department has developed a good team of professionals united by common responsibility, tasks, and focus on results.
“I like the team I work in and my colleagues inspire me. I admire the tasks our employees do and I am always ready to help them, she says, emphasizing that responsibility for the results of one’s work is first and foremost. – Discipline and diligence in the team is an important factor in the work. And understanding and goodwill in the process of work help to resolve many issues that arise and avoid unnecessary expenditure of time and resources.
I consider that one should find work so exciting that one does not have time to keep track of time and enjoy it all the time. Definitely, it is much better and more pleasant when you like your job. When you and your profession, knowledge and other skills are in demand on the labor market for the amount of money you want – that is professional success. You have become a professional. Because the readiness of the market to give you what you want in exchange for your knowledge is an objective criterion. A person often underestimates or overestimates himself. The opinion of people close to you and colleagues is not always objective. But the market demand, taking into account the wishes of a specialist in terms of payment, is the most correct criterion of success”.
Over the years, the station has become dear to Svetlana Zhusipaliyeva. She knows well the history of Kapshagai HPP, is proud of the work of the people who built it, and the fact that the production facility fits correctly into the landscape, produces energy without disturbing the environment. And like all her colleagues who are ‘hooked’ on this job, she can’t imagine changing it.
“Kapshagai HPP is the only hydropower plant on the Ili River in Almaty region. Its special feature is that the station is located in large rocks and water to the turbines is supplied through tunnel water conduits. The source of hydropower is the water of the Ili River, which supplies the production and population of the Almaty region.
What I like most of all is the magnificent scenery, beauty and clean air around our plant. The territory of the hydropower station is like a park area. At lunchtime, my girls and I often went up to the cliffs to see the station in all its glory,” admits Svetlana Zhusipaliyeva.
Despite her considerable work experience, she is ready to learn more. Time sets new criteria, new requirements, without mastering which the development of a specialist stops. Therefore Svetlana Saktapbergenovna, says she would like to master the skill of creativity.
“If a person is able to think outside the box and quickly adjust to our changing conditions, he can solve issues of any complexity to find positive aspects even in desperate situations. Personally, I am closer to the approach that there are always more professional people and I always have room to grow. This leads to constant growth and moving forward,’ she adds.
Her dreaminess and romance have not gone away over the years, but have transformed into more mature attitudes. Her motto: take a step and the path will present itself. “I am the master of my destiny, I am learning to live my life for myself,” notes Svetlana Saktapbergenovna. – I have a rule in my life ‘keep it simple’ – it is easier to look at all situations. Lately I somehow started to dream less, and I am more and more engaged in more certain things – I set a specific goal and try to move towards it. And that’s good… Although I need to dream as well. I want to travel abroad…”
This wish has every chance to come true: the children are grown up. They have their own jobs, their own lives. And as loving children, they wish her to be healthy and happy.
Svetlana Saktapbergenovna was able to preserve and give the most important lessons to her children that her teaching parents and grandmother Bazarbike gave her, saying: “Respect your elders. Think big! Learn from other people’s mistakes.”
“Both of my parents were equally role models for me. I would have been unable to define and understand true values in life without their upbringing, without them instilling in my life principles based on their life experience,” Svetlana Zhusipaliyeva recalls her childhood and youth. – My mother was my hero. She was kind, wise, sociable and always available for guidance. Her former students remember what a mentor and role model she was in their lives. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2022, she was 85 years old.
Svetlana Saktapbergenovna learnt a lot from her family, including her purely feminine hobbies like sewing, knitting and flower breeding. She has philosophical wisdom and a priceless relic from her family – a small typewriter of her father-in-law’s father, which is carefully kept.
“He was a writer, a translator. We keep all the materials and photos related to him. We want our children to know and remember who their great-grandfather was and be proud of him,” Svetlana Saktapbergenovna says with warmth. – And if I had a family flag, the Sun would be depicted on it. Because for me the Sun is light, life and the future…”