Cathy Zhao

Cathy Zhao

A woman with long dark hair, wearing a navy blazer and white top, smiles while standing indoors against a light blue wall with large windows and city buildings in the background.
Principal
Linkedin
  • SYDNEY
  • +61 2 9234 0200

Cathy is a Principal at Sapere specialising in dispute advisory and forensic accounting, with a focus on valuations, loss and damage assessments, and the provision of accounting advice in contested settings. She is a Chartered Accountant with over 14 years’ experience and assists in the preparation of independent and consulting expert reports in litigation, arbitration, and expert determination forums across Australia and internationally.

Cathy has assisted in matters involving shareholder and transaction disputes, breach of contract, shareholder class actions, compulsory acquisition, and complex infrastructure and energy projects, with quantum values ranging from several million to hundreds of millions of dollars. Her expertise lies in bringing together accounting, finance, and commercial insight to deliver clear and defensible opinions.

Cathy started her career with KPMG Forensic in Australia, before spending several years with KPMG London working on large cross border disputes under LCIA, ICC, and ICSID rules. Before joining Sapere, Cathy was part of the dispute advisory team at McGrathNicol.

Specialisations

Expertise

  • Damage calculations
  • Financial modelling
  • Forensic
  • International arbitration
  • Valuations
A woman with long dark hair, wearing a navy blazer and white top, smiles while standing indoors against a light blue wall with large windows and city buildings in the background.

Qualifications & accolades

  • Bachelor of Commerce from University of Sydney
  • Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia + New Zealand
  • Graduate Certificate of Applied Finance, University of New South Wales

Recent work highlights include:

  • Assisted in a valuation for involving shareholdings in a listed company worth up to $2 billion for CGT purposes.
  • Assisted in a valuation of fees under a set of related commercial agreements involving a real estate investment fund in the healthcare property sector.
  • Assisted in a valuation of shares in a land-holding company under alternative scenarios in a shareholder dispute involving a contested option agreement.
  • Assisted the Independent Investigating Accountant appointed by a Tribunal in relation to royalty calculations under a royalty agreement in the oil and gas sector.
  • Assisted in an independent expert role assessing the alleged breaches of financial warranties and the valuation impact in a post-acquisition warranty and indemnity insurance dispute.
  • Led the review and verification of subcontractor claims against the prime contractor to a government agency following the scope reduction of a long-term program.
  • A consulting expert role for non-executive directors in an action by ASIC regarding continuous disclosure obligations of a publicly listed company.
  • Assisted in an independent expert role in a professional negligence matter relating to the quantification of a loss of opportunity arising from legal advice provided for a joint venture for a property development project.
  • Assisted in an independent expert role for an analysis of a loss of opportunity following a failed tender to operate bar and restaurant.