Dr Sangkuhl was a chartered accountant for 25 years before going to academia prompted by a passion for social justice. Dr Sangkuhl worked for Ernst & Young in Australia and Switzerland before moving to Germany. In Germany she worked for the German government agency, the Treuhandanstalt, in Dresden privatising the enterprises of the former DDR.
As an academic Dr Sangkuhl has a particular interest in the equitable taxation of corporations.