The effects of transducer compliance on transient stress measurements in torsional flows of a viscoelastic fluid are investigated theoretically. The analysis is based on the torsional flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid between a rotating and 'stationary' disk, which is allowed to twist and displace axially as a result of the stresses exerted on the disk by the fluid. An approximate analytical solution to the governing equations is obtained using a standard perturbation method. Results of the analysis are used to examine how the fluid velocity is altered by the motion of the stationary disk and to gain insight on how transient stress measurements are affected by transducer compliance. The analysis shows that compliance effects increase with applied shear rate and that the effects of torsional and axial compliance are coupled in measurements of the shear stress and first normal stress difference. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.