Celebrating Excellence in Internal Audit: Jennifer Arnold AMIIA, Chief Audit Executive at Bupa
In 2024, Jennifer Arnold AMIIA and her team at Bupa were recognised with the Internal Audit Team of the Year Award for their commitment to collaboration, continuous improvement, and the value they bring to the business. As Chief Audit Executive, Jennifer reflects on the award with a deep sense of pride in her team’s high performance and growth mindset.
For Jennifer, the recognition is more than a personal milestone. It acknowledges the strength of the team she leads and the impact of internal audit across the organisation. From launching a successful graduate program to championing the use of AI to enhance insights and value, Jennifer continues to guide her team with purpose and innovation. Outside of work, she recharges by travelling to remote parts of Australia and planning future adventures abroad — always grounded by a strong sense of perspective and gratitude.
Do you know an internal audit team delivering exceptional impact? Nominate them for the 2025 Internal Audit Team of the Year Award and help shine a light on their achievements.
Nominate now: Internal Audit Team of the Year Award 2025 - Institute of Internal Auditors Australia
Name
Jennifer Arnold AMIIA
Professional role
Chief Audit Executive, Bupa
How did you feel when you won the Award?
Really proud for my team, excited and grateful that the team were being acknowledged for their amazing work commitment and desire to continuously grow and improve what we can achieve as an internal audit function.
What have you done since receiving the Award?
We’ve proudly shared the team’s achievement across the organisation and also celebrated with a team lunch.
Has the Award provided any new opportunities or recognition with your peers, organisation?
Our Board members were super congratulatory of the award and I think it also gives the board and executive additional comfort around the insights and quality of what our team provides / delivers.
What do you love most about your job?
I will never take for granted the high performing and truly collaborative team that I’m lucky enough to lead. I also feel privileged with the level of support I receive from both the board and executive – which makes my role even more valuable and rewarding.’
What do you like to do in your spare time? (non-work related)?
I’ve always loved to travel to new and different destinations both in Australia and abroad. I’m lucky enough to find time to regularly travel to remote towns and camp in the ‘bush’, which is really grounding and reminds you of what’s important in life. I do plan on arranging some longer travels now my four children are all young adults. Some of the places I’m researching are Iceland, Bhutan, Galapagos and I’d love to travel by boat along the Amazon too !!
What have you been most proud of in the past 12 months?
The team has put in a lot of work developing our own Grad Program and we’ve already started to see the benefits. We are coming into our third intake of grads, with the first two grads securing permanent analyst roles in internal audit. Slowly and steadily building internally grown, high performing employees that can move into strategic roles within the broader business over time.
What are your goals for the coming 12 months?
Embracing AI across our entire team, finding and sharing new ways to use AI that not only help internal audit but will bring real benefit to our colleagues working across the business.