  The majority of cataclysmic variables observed in the hard X-ray energy band
are intermediate polars where the magnetic field is strong enough to channel
the accreting matter to the magnetic poles of the white dwarf. A shock above
the stellar surface heats the gas to fairly high temperatures (10--100 keV).
The post-shock region cools mostly via optically thin bremsstrahlung. We
investigate the influence of Compton scattering on the structure and the
emergent spectrum of the post-shock region. We also study the effect it has on
the mass of the white dwarfs obtained from fitting the observed X-ray spectrum
of intermediate polars. We construct the model of the post-shock region taking
Compton scattering into account. The radiation transfer equation is solved in
the plane-parallel approximation. The feedback of Compton scattering on the
structure of the post-shock region is also accounted for. A set of the
post-shock region model spectra for various white dwarf masses is calculated.
We find that Compton scattering does not change the emergent spectra
significantly for low accretion rates or low white dwarf masses. However, it
becomes important at high accretion rates and high white dwarf masses. The
time-averaged, broad-band X-ray spectrum of intermediate polar V709 Cas
obtained by the RXTE and INTEGRAL observatories is fitted using the set of
computed spectral models. We obtained the white dwarf mass of 0.91 +/- 0.02
M_sun and 0.88 +/- 0.02 M_sun using models with Compton scattering taken into
account and without it, respectively.
