From Decision-Making to Making a Difference: How Michele Beals is Shaping the Future of Healthcare

For Michele Beals, CPA, CA, every decision as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre starts with one guiding truth: “At the end of the day, we're here to provide care for our patients.”

According to Michele, her CPA designation has helped her develop the credibility and the trust to help lead one of the most prestigious healthcare institutions in the country.

“I will be in a room brilliant clinical leaders including physicians, researchers, and nurse practitioners, and they are all looking to me to support them in making decisions,” said Michele. “When I say I’m a CPA, others see someone with a wealth of knowledge and experience. They see me as a trusted partner.”

For Michele, the novelty never wears off. “Having my role is an incredible privilege, because I feel like I'm making a difference.”

The Business Behind the Bedside Manner

Healthcare, Michele says, is as much about business strategy as it is about compassion for patients.

A doctor in the emergency room can’t treat a patient if they don’t have supplies, equipment or access to information, said Michele. When you think about hospitals, it's no different than running any other business. We still manage budgets. We have extensive reporting requirements. And we need to make decisions based on data and a set of priorities.

As CFO, she helps make these decisions with the backing of her network. I rely on my colleagues and fellow CPAs from other hospitals, she says. The one thing that is lovely about working in the public sector is the ability to share, and the supportive network we have built among CPAs in the healthcare sector.

But her reach doesn’t end at the hospital doors. I also support operations and interact with financial professionals in all levels of government, with our suppliers and with our partners.

For Michele, what attracted her most to working in a hospital was the opportunity to lead a large organization, but one with a clear and focused purpose. Despite the size and scope, everyone working at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is united by a single mission: care.

Driving Innovation in Care

Michele says that one of the areas where her CPA has given her a distinct advantage is in finding ways to harness innovation to improve patient care and support the breakthroughs that will transform the future of healthcare.

Working with partners to drive and support investments in technology is a critical role CPAs can play, because we understand the value the data has in any aspect of any business, said Michele.

Playing a leadership role in an academic hospital means helping researchers who are on the cutting edge of the latest healthcare advances.

Our researchers are building businesses of tomorrow, said Michele. At Sunnybrook, we are thinking about what comes next. Working with researchers and people who can help them grow their business is very rewarding.

The CPA Difference

To Michele, it’s the natural curiosity that is embedded in the training of a CPA that really sets the profession apart.

With the CPA designation, you can make the connections between the financials and the business, and ask the really challenging questions, she says. When I think about my team at Sunnybrook, a significant number of them are CPAs. You can trust that they are going to take care of the technical elements, but the real value is in the way that they contribute to decisions on a different level.

Put simply, when I think about big decisions, I think about CPAs.

Michele’s Message to Prospective CPAs

These foundational skills will stay with you throughout your career and will only make you stronger, said Michele. With a CPA, you will be a voice at the table. Any table.

Ready to Lead Like Michele Beals?

The CPA designation gives you the foundation to help shape the decisions that really matter. Are you ready to lead?