Schacht Group, a Chicago-based insurance consulting firm, andSmart Business Advisory and Consulting in Chicago said they haveestablished a strategic alignment to provide a variety of servicesfor insurance companies.

The firms said they will consult on such areas as regulatoryissues, enterprise risk management, run-off, company restructuringand public policy initiatives.

The Schacht firm has as its principal Jim Schacht, a formerdirector of the Illinois Insurance Department.

Their affiliation, the companies said, allows both organizationsto partner in the provision of cost-effective accounting,actuarial, auditing, business process, tax, technology andregulatory solutions.

Key Coleman, managing director of Smart in Chicago, said, “WithJim Schacht and his colleague Lynne Prescott Hepler, we add a wholenew dimension to Smart's growing bank of insurance talent, both inthe Midwest and nationally.”

Mr. Coleman manages the Disputes, Valuations and InvestigationsPractice Group at Smart, providing business advisory, financialanalysis and expert witness services to clients in the financialservices industry. He specializes in financial analysis inconnection with insurance, reinsurance and other businessdisputes.