Thompson, in a speech to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy Annual Conference in Manchester, said that since 2005 the BBC has made a cumulative total of £524m in efficiency savings.
He added that in TV the BBC is targeting a 5% net reduction in programme prices each year for the next five years. And in this year's pay round, he said staff earning below £60,000 got a flat rate increase of £450.
He said: "I say this not to claim that the BBC faces the same scale of financial challenge as some of our commercial colleagues. We don't. But the picture of a BBC swimming with cash and people and able to make additional savings at the drop of a hat is one which I submit is simply out of date."
He also revealed the BBC will release the expenses claims of its 10 executive board members over the past five years. The move is part of plans aimed at improving the financial accountability of the BBC.
Thompson said: "Public expectations for disclosure from every public body are clearly growing - especially in the wake of the controversy over MPs' expenses. I also believe those MPs who have asked me and my colleagues the question - What about you? What is the BBC going to disclose? - have a fair point."
The corporation will also publish more details of the salary and expenses details of its top 50 executives. And it will reveal the salary and expenses details of its top decision-makers. Thompson conceded "we have yet to define this second group precisely - and will take internal and external advice before we do so. But the total number of managers in scope will be around 100 people beyond the executive board".
The BBC will not detail the salaries of its top talent, but Thompson said instead the BBC "will disclose the total amount we spend on talent as a whole and do it each year so that the public can monitor the direction of travel over time". In addition the BBC has "committed ourselves to reducing the amount we spend on top talent progressively over the next few years".
Thompson defended the pay of its top stars, adding: "Read the newspapers and you could be forgiven for believing that entry-level pay for a presenter at the BBC is £6m a year. In fact, the overwhelming majority of our talent who work with us to help inform and entertain the public are paid pretty modestly. We issue around 250,000 artists' contracts each year. The average value of a contract is less than one thousand pounds."
A fourth change will be for the BBC to limit the amount of salary and expense claims that it removes or anomymises through so-called redaction. Thompson said: "I have asked all of my colleagues to ensure that they only remove or anomymise information when it is absolutely essential. As a result, from today I believe that those who make FOI requests of the BBC will see fewer redactions than in the past."
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