Rising Pay Is Seen in Risk and Compliance Next Year

It was more than just fluff when Goldman Sachs CFO David Viniar told investors that much of its recent recruitment relates to the new regulatory environment, with hundreds of staff hired "on the risk management and control" side of the firm.

It makes sense. As trading and dealmaking prospects are compressed, new pockets of opportunity are growing in risk management and compliance. Government agencies, and those who manage the money for government at all levels, will increasingly hire compliance people from Wall Street, recruiters say. And Robert Half's 2011 Guide to Accounting and Finance Salaries indicates next year should be a good one for compliance professionals of all stripes. For instance:

- At companies with over $250 million in sales, chief compliance officers should be looking at a base salary range of $149,500 to $205,000 - a 3.6 percent increase over 2010.

- Compliance directors stand to make an average of 4.2 percent more at those firms, with a salary range of $121,700 to $164,000.

- Chief compliance officers at companies with up to $25 million in sales are also seeing salaries increase an average of 3.5 percent. Their 2011 pay could range from $101,750 to $133,750.

- Compliance directors at those companies will see an average increase of about 4 percent from 2010, with base salaries ranging from $87,000 to $113,00.