Gareth Kung, CFO of Ambow Education, has left the company after joining only six months ago. Kung resigned from his position with the Beijing-based company on July 5. Ambow announced that KJ Tan—currently serving as the Ambow’s vice president of finance— has been appointed acting chief financial officer until a permanent successor can be found.

The exact reasons for Kung’s departure are unclear and Ambow did not immediately return calls for further comment.

Kung’s short tenure coincides with a rough patch for the education company which specialises in providing exam preparation and IT education. Already on a downward path since it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010, Ambow’s stock was $6.85 when Kung joined dipping to $4.65 when he left.

The recent decline could be a reaction to its most recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings showing an operating loss of $13 million in the first quarter of this year compared to operating income of $3.4 million for the same period in 2011. Incidentally, separate filings published on July 2 this year also report an internal investigation into financial misconduct into Ambow is taking place relating to the 2008 acquisition of a training school.

Before joining Ambow, Kung was the CFO of Hanwha Solarone, a China-based, Nasdaq-listed solar module solar company from November 2009 to July 2011. Kung worked from 2003 to 2009 at Semiconductor Manufacturing International, a China-based technology company listed on the Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges. He was also a former investment manager at AIG Investment Corporation.

Acting CFO, KJ Tan, joined Ambow as its corporate controller in December 2008 and became vice president of finance in March 2010. Tan comes from an accounting background having worked with KPMG Shanghai from December 2002 to September 2005, as well as PricewaterhouseCoopers Shanghai from October 2005 to November 2008.