The number of hearings at which the Government Accountability Office provided testimony hit a five-year low in 2010, when the agency helped save billions of dollars in government waste.

Those are the results of a 158-page annual self-analysis released Monday by the GAO, Congress’ investigative arm.

The report states that the agency testified at 192 Congressional hearings, down from its goal of 220 hearings, “due to fewer-than-anticipated hearings in a range of subject areas.”

But the GAO’s research led to almost $50 billion in savings, including saving $3.7 billion by canceling the manned ground vehicle portion of the Army’s Future Combat Systems and saving $2.8 billion by reducing compensation to federal crop insurance providers.

The agency also claims thousands of nonfinancial victories, including expediting black lung benefits claims and overseeing care in nursing homes.

At the end of fiscal 2010, 82 percent of the recommendations GAO made in fiscal 2006 had been implemented, primarily by executive branch agencies.

“Fiscal year 2010 was one of our most busy and challenging years — yet we succeeded at performing our mission, responding to mandates, and accomplishing many of our goals,” Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said in a statement.

Please send Campus Notebook tips here.