Meet Margarita Postupaieva
TMT Industry Group Leader in Deloitte Ukraine
Faces of Deloitte TMT is a series of articles exploring the personal histories of our practitioners, sharing the key experiences that defined their values and exploring why they do what they do. In this story, Margarita tells us how Deloitte’s values have made a difference.
When talking about her decision to join Deloitte in 2007, Margarita Postupaieva, TMT Industry Group Leader in Deloitte Ukraine, can sum it up in one word: values. And now having been displaced from her home, she has seen these values come into play first-hand. Normally based in the capital city of Kyiv, Margarita, her husband, their four-year-old daughter, and their cat and dog have had to leave their home and move to an area of Ukraine where attacks are, so far, less frequent. During this difficult time, Margarita says she’s grateful to be working for Deloitte, which has provided enormous support in resources, critical knowledge, and transfer support to keep practitioners safe.
Margarita grew up in Skadovsk, in the South of Ukraine, now under Russian occupation. After studying finance in Kyiv, she joined Deloitte despite being courted by other big four. But Deloitte’s values aligned with her own—and she now calls the decision to join Deloitte “the wisest in my life.”
Margarita sees this in all aspects of her career and work. She deeply appreciates Deloitte’s emphasis on personal development, sharing experience and expertise to help others progress and derive value from lessons learned. Most important for her, she says, is Deloitte’s integrity: “We never compromise on quality. We know we have an obligation to be honest and speak up and protect Deloitte’s reputation as our own.”
While she’s worked across a spectrum of TMT clients, there are two types of TMT companies she particularly enjoys working with: first, the established, stable companies that have organized processes, controls, and governance in place and that “know what you need as an auditor.” The second are the new, fast-growing IT companies that want to advance and attract investors. For these companies, she relishes the challenge of educating them, helping them lay the groundwork step-by-step for solid audit processes that can help prepare them for an IPO.
Why TMT?
Margarita sees reflected in TMT companies her own personal value of continual development and growth. “I realized that the TMT industry will grow rapidly, change fast, and generate unbelievable products.” She’s excited by the speed at which these companies must progress and innovate in order to compete. “[They] are extremely advanced, creative, and adaptive to changes,” she says. And as a self-described “fan of efficiency,” serving companies that produce technologies to help businesses and consumers do more with less is “simply a pleasure.”
Working with TMT clients, she sees herself not just as an auditor who’s checking compliance but also as someone who’s always learning and constantly analyzing the changes the industry faces. “You really need to do your research,” she observes, “because nothing stays the same.”
