A top Pentagon official says in a new interview that the department has saved $4.7 billion over the last two years thanks to a concerted effort to cut costs and increase efficiency.

“Reform doesn't happen overnight,” Lisa Hershman, the Pentagon’s acting chief management officer who is leading the charge, told ABC News in an interview released Saturday.

Hershman said the effort to streamline military spending is on track to save $6 billion this fiscal year. The Pentagon’s first-ever audit in November helped identify parts of the department in need of fiscal reform, she noted.

A two-time former CEO, Hershman entered the role in an active capacity last year after former Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisBiden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies Trump says he wanted to take out Syria's Assad but Mattis opposed it Gary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November MORE fired her predecessor, reportedly over frustration with his performance.

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Hershman told ABC News that part of the streamlining effort revolves around increasing efficiency in information technologies, health care, the military’s industrial supply chain, contract management and acquisitions.

“We want to create a culture of thinking in terms of improvement in modernization and creating value,” she said. “It’s not as if those are the only four, we encourage folks to look within their own organizations and find areas where they can improve.”

Reducing redundancy has also helped the effort, she said. For example, she estimated that reducing the number of contracts for the purchase of wooden two-by-fours from 22 to two could possibly save as much as $18 million each year.

“In addition to cost — because I don’t want to say it isn’t important because it’s very important, affordability — but performance and how are we going to deliver to our customers,” Hershman said. “That’s internal, that's external to the war-fighter. How do we support the mission? So those are the types of metrics in addition to cost that we’re looking at.”

She added that Pentagon employees are open to the idea of having their finances evaluated, and some agencies are even actively requesting help. Hershman said this partially arises out of Pentagon employees’ commitment to the National Defense Strategy, which expressly calls upon greater affordability in the department.

When asked in the ABC News interview if she would take on the job on a permanent basis if nominated, she replied, “I serve at the pleasure" of the president, adding that her acting status does not change her commitment to her job.

The spending cuts come as the Pentagon, while still overseeing operations around the world, is expected to drawn down the troop presence in certain areas in the near future. President Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE also vowed during his campaign to cut regulations and costs across government.