The state auditor of Missouri is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Missouri. Thirty-eight individuals have occupied the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican.
Election and qualification The state auditor serves a four-year term, and is the only state executive branch official elected in even-numbered non-presidential election years. To be eligible for the office of state auditor, a candidate must meet the same eligibility requirements prescribed for the governor.
Powers and duties The state auditor is charged by Article IV, Section 13 of the Missouri Constitution with supervising and auditing the receipt and expenditure of public funds and prescribing appropriate systems of accounts for all public offices, be they state agencies or local governments. In relation to the aforesaid local governments, the same constitutional provisions also require the state auditor to supervise their budgeting systems. In accordance with this mandate, the state auditor conducts financial and performance audits for approximately 200 state agencies, boards, and commissions, and the state's judicial branch. The state auditor also audits counties, cities, school districts, and other political subdivisions at the auditor's initiative, whenever they lack an external auditor, or when requested by citizen petition.
Missouri's state auditor is one of only four elected auditors in the United States whose core responsibilities are codified in the state constitution. The other state auditors to which this phenomenon applies are the auditors in New York, Utah, and Washington.
Recent history The office was temporarily held by John Watson after Tom Schweich, who was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014, died on February 26, 2015. Nicole Galloway was appointed by Governor Jay Nixon to fill the office on a permanent basis until the 2018 election, effective on April 27, 2015, and was subsequently elected to a full term.Nixon picks Boone County treasurer for state auditor job (St, Louis Post-Dispatch article-April 15, 2015) Scott Fitzpatrick was elected as State Auditor in 2022, and took office on January 9, 2023.
List of State Auditors of Missouri #ImageNamePartyTermCounty1William ChristyDemocratic-Republican1820–1821St. Louis2William V. RectorDemocratic-Republican1821–1823St. Louis, MO3Elias BarcroftDemocratic-Republican1823–1833St. Louis4Henry ShurldsDemocratic1833–1835Washington5Peter Garland GloverDemocratic1835–1837Callaway6Hiram H. BaberDemocratic1837–1845Cole7William MonroeDemocratic1845Morgan8James W. McDearmonDemocratic1845–1848St. Charles9George W. MillerDemocratic1848–1849Cole10Wilson BrownDemocratic1849–1852Cape Girardeau11Abraham FulkersonDemocratic1852Cole12William H. BuffingtonDemocratic1853–1861Cole13W. S. MoseleyDemocratic1861–1865New Madrid14Alonzo ThompsonRepublican1865–1869Nodaway15Daniel DraperRepublican1869–1873Montgomery16George Boardman ClarkDemocratic1873–1875Washington17Thomas HollodayDemocratic1875–1881Madison18John WalkerDemocratic1881–1889Howard19James Monroe SeibertDemocratic1889–1901Cape Girardeau20Albert Otis AllenDemocratic1901–1905New Madrid21William Werner WilderRepublican1905–1909Ste. Genevieve22John Pemberton GordonDemocratic1909–1917Lafayette23George Ernst HackmanRepublican1917–1925Warren24Lorenzo Dow ThompsonRepublican1925–1933Callaway25Forrest SmithDemocratic1933–1949Ray26W. H. HolmesDemocratic1949–1953Maries27Haskell HolmanDemocratic1953–1971Randolph28Kit BondRepublican1971–1973Audrain29John AshcroftRepublican1973–1975Greene30George W. LehrDemocratic1975–1977Jackson31Thomas M. KeyesDemocratic1977–1978Jackson32James AntonioRepublican1978–1984Cole33Margaret B. KellyRepublican1984–1999Cole34Claire McCaskillDemocratic1999–2007Jackson35Susan MonteeDemocratic2007–2011Buchanan36Tom SchweichRepublican2011–2015St. Louis37John WatsonDemocratic2015Cole38Nicole GallowayDemocratic2015–2023Boone 39Scott FitzpatrickRepublican2023–present
References
Official Manual, State of Missouri, 2005–2006.
External links Publications by or about the Office of the Missouri State Auditor at Internet Archive.