Surmounting all odds, Prema Jayakumar, daughter of a Mumbai-based auto-rickshaw driver, has topped the all India Chartered Accountancy (CA) examination.

Residing in a crammed one-room chawl in suburban Malad with her parents and brother, the 24-year-old told PTI today she was ecstatic to have secured the first rank in the examination conducted in November 2012 by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, results of which were announced yesterday.

"It's my lifetime achievement. For me, the key to success is hardwork," an elated Prema said.

Her family, originally from Tamil Nadu, is settled for the last several years in Mumbai where her father Jayakumar Perumal drives an auto-rickshaw for a living.

Prema, who secured an impressive 607 marks out of 800, credits her parents for the success and now wants them to live a life of comfort.

"It would not have been possible without their support and blessings. My parents always motivated me. I would now want my parents, who did so much for me, to live a life of comfort," Prema, who did her articleship with Kishore Seth and Company, said.

Prema said she was proud of her father and homemaker mother who never allowed money to come in the way of her academic pursuit and that of her 22-year-old brother, who also cleared the tough CA examination with her.

Both siblings had registered together with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to take the test in November last year.

Displaying academic excellence earlier too, Prema had stood second in her B.Com Third year examination conducted by Mumbai University, securing 90% marks.