Nicole Galloway officially became Missouri's 38th auditor Monday afternoon, during a brief ceremony in the hallway just outside the auditor's office in the Capitol.
Officially, she succeeded John Watson, Gov. Jay Nixon's former chief of staff, who held the post for two months after Nixon appointed him as interim auditor after Tom Schweich's Feb. 26 suicide.
But, for most people, Galloway takes over the office and staff that Schweich had in place when he began his second four-year term in January.
"I want to thank Auditor Watson for his steady hand since the tragic losses of Auditor Schweich and (spokesman) Spence Jackson," Galloway said at the beginning of her four-minute address.
"A priority of this office, moving forward, will be to continue the vital work Auditor Schweich performed, bringing the office closer to taxpayers," Galloway added. "This office is essential for ensuring that taxpayers get the most for their money - and Auditor Schweich, with the assistance of Mr. Jackson, made that work easier to understand."
Jackson also committed suicide, on March 27, leaving a note that said he wasn't prepared for the prospect of being unemployed again - after more than a year of unemployment before becoming Schweich's spokesman in 2011.
Galloway said the Schweich and Jackson families would continue "to be in our thoughts and prayers."
She promised taxpayers "serving as state auditor means upholding a sacred trust to each of you, that you will have a strong, independent advocate in government, fighting for you every day. I will keep that trust."
She promised to continue the office's history of "being a watchdog holding government accountable."
And she promised to add cybersecurity as a focus of all audits.
"With ever-changing technology that allows us to expand our capacity, increase value, work smarter and with more diverse people," she said during her brief speech, "we must also protect Missouri families."
Since people can "access data from around the globe," she added, "we must ensure that criminals near and far do not access our personal data in your children's schools, within state or local government.
"Government must be held accountable to keep private data safe and secure."
Galloway also thanked "the experienced professionals" of the auditor's staff, who "do exceptional work for Missouri citizens day in and day out, and have remained committed to doing so during these past, difficult months."
But she began her term without having a deputy auditor - and said she would announce later who the new deputy will be.
Harry Otto, who had been Schweich's chief deputy since Schweich first became auditor in January 2011, "resigned his position and I wished him the best of luck," Galloway told reporters after Monday's swearing-in ceremony. "And I thank him for his service."
But Otto - a former partner in the Williams-Keepers CPA firm, who retired from that company to take the deputy auditor's job - said Monday he never submitted a resignation letter.
"I met with her for an hour on Friday, April 17 - the first, and only, time one-on-one," Otto said in a telephone interview. "As the meeting broke up, I told her: "If you want me to be a part of your team, I would seriously consider that offer.'
"That was the last words we said. On Monday the 20th, Auditor John Watson called me and said, "The new auditor will be sworn in on the 27th and she will bring her new deputy with her.'
"That doesn't jive with the answer that she gave you - it was pretty plain to me that I was not going to be offered the job - or any other job."
When Galloway was asked if she had asked Otto to stay in her administration, she repeated: "No. He resigned," and said Trish Vincent, Schweich's chief of staff, also had resigned.
She declined to discuss personnel changes until after announcing them to her staff.
Galloway will serve until January 2019, the end of Schweich's term, and has said she will seek statewide election to the post in 2018.
Until Monday, Galloway was Boone County's treasurer.
She earned her bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and economics from the Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla. She holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia's Crosby MBA Program.
She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
Galloway, her husband, Jon Galloway, and their two sons live in Columbia.