AMOUNT is a lump sum noun (SINGULAR).

Are you tired of hearing me point out examples of errors in subject/verb agreement? I just can't give up on getting this one right. Here is a sentence from this morning's The Birmingham News:

He wrote that in the last four years alone, the total amount of fees and costs accumulated were more than $10 million.

Erin Stock was not quoting the federal judge who was referring to yet another potential financial disaster for Jefferson County. The statement was PARAPHRASED, so the reporter could have corrected any incorrect usage by the judge.

AMOUNT is a LUMP SUM NOUN (like laundry, sand, salt, money). It refers to a "lump" of something that is treated as ONE THING. Therefore, the verb should be singular. The sentence should read as follows:

He wrote that, in the last four years alone, the total amount of fees and costs accumulated was more than $10 million.

If you are an observant blog reader, you might also notice that I added a comma between "that" and "in." For me, this clearly sets off the inserted phrase "in the last four years alone." However, journalists are often expected to be skimpy with punctuation to save space, so I won't take points off for that.

If you are writing business prose, it would be wise to add the comma.