CoU is a first-of-its-kind training program from Deakin Business School which equips business finance professionals across Australia and New Zealand with the skills to build long-term, trusting relationships, navigate difficult client or customer conversations and look after themselves whilst supporting their clients and colleagues.

Beginning as a research program in 2021, CoU’s mission is to upskill trusted advisers to better support the financial and mental wellbeing of their small business owner (SME) clients.  The program was designed by the Business School in collaboration with workplace mental health researchers and industry partners in response to: 1) a growing body of research highlighting the connection between financial distress and poor mental health for SMEs, and 2) prominent accounting and bookkeeping professional bodies reporting on stressed members struggling to respond to, or cope with, distressed SME clients or unsure of what their responsibilities were when it came to duty of care.

CoU is premised on the theory of using key intermediaries to deliver mental health support to difficult-to-reach groups – in this case, SMEs – and encourage them to access professional support. Advisers like accountants and bookkeepers have often been identified as key intermediaries, with SMEs often reaching out to their finance professional for advice or support when financially distressed.

Like physical first aid, the program teaches participants how to become first responders in delivering mental first aid – that is, how to recognise someone in distress and how to support them until they can be referred on to appropriate professional help. A large focus of the course is also about setting boundaries with clients, protecting participants’ own wellbeing and learning how to look after themselves whilst looking after others.

In 2023, backed by two years of encouraging research outcomes and participant and trainer feedback, we are expanding beyond the research program to better equip all client-facing Australian and New Zealand business professionals to navigate challenging times and start a different conversation about mental health and wellbeing.