"I didn't set out to build a compliance platform. I set out to answer one question — what would have needed to be true for these businesses to survive?"
— Stephen Fairbairn · Founder, BoardSolvency
Module Summary
BoardSolvency Journey — the essence of it, in two minutes.
Stephen Fairbairn isn't an accountant, a lawyer, or a career governance professional. He's an independent researcher who experienced business closure firsthand — multiple times — before spending ten years developing the framework that became the Sustainable Cashflow Formula and BoardSolvency.
2016 — Initial research documented; $11.25B in annual Australian losses from preventable cashflow crises estimated
2016–2024 — Eight years building and testing the Excel prototype against real ASIC and insolvency data
Dec 2024 — ASIC updates RG 217 — the regulatory environment catches up to what the research had argued for years
2025 — Development begins on the BoardSolvency web platform
2026 — Alpha testing underway; ABN registered; boardsolvency.com.au live for private review
Independent research (10 yrs)
Corporate governance & Corporations Act
Platform development (Flask/SQLite)
Financial analysis of insolvency data
This is a working paper — weightings, thresholds, and methodology will be refined through application and peer review. Contributions from directors, practitioners, academics, and regulators are genuinely welcomed. See The Research Behind BoardSolvency for the full account.
The Founder's Story
Built from personal experience — not theory.
Stephen Fairbairn is not an accountant, a lawyer, or a career governance professional. He is an independent researcher who experienced the consequences of inadequate solvency monitoring firsthand — multiple times — before spending ten years developing the framework that became the Sustainable Cashflow Formula and ultimately BoardSolvency.
The journey began with difficulty. Business closures during economic downturns — including the loss of a promising startup when rising interest rates and insufficient cash reserves made it impossible to continue trading. In each case, the problem was not a lack of revenue or ambition. It was the same thing every time: insufficient cash coming in above all obligations, with no buffer for the unexpected.
That personal experience became a research question. What would a director — or a founder — need to know, at every board meeting, to ensure this never happened? What framework would translate a complex legal obligation into a practical, repeatable test that any director, regardless of their financial background, could apply?
Ten years of research, an Excel workbook prototype, and hundreds of hours of analysis of Australian business insolvency data produced the answer — the Sustainable Cashflow Formula. BoardSolvency is the platform that implements it.
Read the full research behind BoardSolvency →
The Research Journey
Ten years from question to platform.
The initial research documented
Following personal business closures during economic downturns, Stephen documents his initial research findings — estimating $11.25B in annual losses from Australian business closure attributable to preventable cash flow crises. The research question is formalised: what would a practical director-level solvency monitoring framework need to look like?
The Excel prototype
Eight years of development culminate in a working Excel workbook implementing the Sustainable Cashflow Formula across eight structured solvency components — tested against real Australian business financial data drawn from ASIC enforcement records, insolvency statistics, and the governance literature.
The regulatory moment
ASIC updates Regulatory Guide 217 — significantly raising the bar on director solvency monitoring obligations. The regulatory environment catches up to what the research had identified years earlier as the critical gap between director obligation and available tools.
BoardSolvency begins
Development of the BoardSolvency web platform begins — translating the Excel prototype into a purpose-built Flask/SQLite application with full three-statement financial analysis, solvency scoring, and forecast modelling.
Alpha testing and commercialisation
BoardSolvency enters alpha testing with demonstration company data. ABN 54 510 691 643 registered. Domain boardsolvency.com.au secured. The website is live for private review.
Background & Credentials
Independent. Experienced. Committed to the problem.
Stephen brings a rare combination — the lived experience of business closure, ten years of dedicated governance research, and the practical determination to build a tool that every director in Australia can use.
Independent Research
Ten years of self-directed research into Australian director liability, solvency monitoring, and the governance gap between legal obligation and practical tools.
Corporate Governance
Deep focus on Australian Corporations Act obligations, ASIC RG 217, director duty of care, and the landmark Australian governance cases that shaped the regulatory landscape.
Platform Development
Founder and developer of BoardSolvency — a Flask/SQLite web application implementing the Sustainable Cashflow Formula for directors and boards of Australian companies.
Financial Analysis
Ten years of analysis of Australian business insolvency data, cash flow crisis patterns, and the gap between accounting profit and cash flow survival metrics.
Investment Philosophy
Longstanding personal interest in investment philosophy, personal development, and the intersection of financial literacy and decision-making under uncertainty.
Tertiary Qualifications & Professional Accreditation
| 1967–68 | Farm Management Diploma, MOFAC, Geelong, Victoria |
| 1971–73 | Bachelor of Economics, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria |
| 1974 | Master of Arts (preliminary), Adelaide University, South Australia |
| 1994 | Certificate, Queensland Entrepreneur Workshop |
| 1995–2000 | Management Consultant, Sunshine Coast, Queensland |
| 1995–98 | Member (General Registration), International Management Consultants |
| 1996–2000 | National Industry Extension Service Consultant, Qld. Dept. of Tourism, Small Business & Industry |
| 1997–2000 | Accredited AusIndustry Consultant |
| 2019 | Certificate IV in Small Business Management |
Broader Interests
The thinking behind the work.
BoardSolvency reflects a broader set of convictions about the role of knowledge, accountability, and practical tools in improving how people and organisations make decisions under pressure.
Areas of active interest and research
Corporate governance reformThe gap between director obligations under Australian law and the tools available to discharge them — and how that gap can be closed.
Investment philosophyThe psychology of money, long-term thinking, and the decision-making frameworks that separate successful investors from reactive ones.
Personal developmentA curated library of personal development content — from Atomic Habits to Shane Parrish — applied to the practical challenges of building something new later in life.
Business closure researchThe consistent patterns behind Australian business closures — and what directors, founders, and advisors can do differently to recognise the warning signs earlier.
The Research Foundation
Open, honest, and available for scrutiny.
Working Paper — Available to Paid BoardSolvency Directors & Board Entities — Open for Critique
The Sustainable Cashflow Formula: Theoretical Basis, Development, and Application
The Sustainable Cashflow Formula's full framework and automated calculation are made available to paid BoardSolvency directors and board entities. BoardSolvency is the platform that implements it — automating the calculations and making it accessible to every board regardless of size or resources.
The formula addresses a recognised gap: no structured framework exists that translates directors' legal obligations under Section 588G and ASIC RG 217 (December 2024) into a practical, repeatable test that a non-accounting director can apply at each board meeting.
This is a working paper. The weightings, thresholds, and scoring methodology will be refined through application and peer review. Contributions and critique from directors, practitioners, academics, and regulators are genuinely welcomed — and actively sought.
Read the full research summary — Why I Built BoardSolvency →