Average rates of pay for compliance consultants working on short-term contracts are on the rise as financial firms look to acquire professionals with the skills to deal with increasingly demanding regulatory challenges.

In the wake of the global economic crisis, regulators started to demand greater accountability from financial institutions, introducing measures such as rigorous annual stress tests and threats of imprisonment for senior managers found guilty of wrongdoing.

While this has created all sorts of difficulties for many businesses, for experienced compliance professionals it has meant strong employer demand and increased earning potential.

City AM cited figures from recruitment agency Robert Walters showing that firms have been willing to raise their pay offers and resort to short-term contracts in order to get the people they need.

Day rates for consultants or fixed-term staff in some senior compliance positions this year will rise by 20 per cent to £1,200, the data showed, while daily pay for internal compliance professionals will increase by nearly eight per cent to £700 a day.

It was also forecast that temporary roles in market risk reporting will pay £700 a day, 16 per cent more than last year, while people with over six years' experience in trade or communication surveillance will see their daily rates go up by more than eight per cent to £650.

Explaining the current staffing situation in this sector, Colin Loth, managing director of London and the south-east at Robert Walters, said: "[Temporary] senior roles tend to be used in two circumstances.

"Firstly, when new regulation has been introduced and companies need to put processes in place and update the way they do things. Secondly, if they're having difficulty hiring permanent staff [for the role] and there's a desperate need."

A number of high-profile figures - including Barclays chief executive John McFarlane and acting Financial Conduct Authority chief Tracey McDermott - have warned that the volume of regulatory activity witnessed in recent years is unsustainable.