Dive Brief:

• Lawsuits and investigations into its accounting practices help Alibaba Group in the long run, the Chinese online retail goliath's founder and executive chairman Jack Ma told Reuters Saturday.

• "If you want to sue us, sue us," Ma told Reuters in response to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation launched earlier this year. “It's an opportunity for us to let them understand what we're doing."

• The SEC inquiry reportedly focuses on how Alibaba reports sales data related to Singles Day, China's November e-commerce holiday, as well as its relationship with logistics affiliate Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, in which Alibaba owns a 47% stake. Ma told Reuters that Alibaba had been transparent and provided the SEC with everything it had asked for, and that he didn’t know when the agency would release any findings.

Dive Insight:

The SEC isn't the only one with questions about Alibaba's accounting practices. Herb Greenberg at Pacific Square Research, for example, has said that there’s a serious lack of transparency at Alibaba around its investments and sales, and that it may be reporting some investments as expenses, leading to inflated profits. 

Kynikos Associates founder Jim Chanos is still betting against Alibaba, saying in May that he’s doubtful about its cash flow and questions the company’s own metrics, according to CNBC. "We just don't see how profitable or unprofitable that business is," Chanos said.

Jack Ma's comments aren't helping Alibaba's reputation. He managed to muddle his stance on counterfeit sales through Alibaba’s Chinese marketplaces with remarks last month at Alibaba's first investor day conference, suggesting that many fakes are of higher quality than the name-brand originals they mimic, further rankling brands that have been crying foul over sales of counterfeit goods on Alibaba's sites and forcing him to clarify his stance.

Speaking to Reuters following the first day of a two-day philanthrophy conference hosted by the Alibaba Foundation, a charitable organization established by the company, Ma said that Chinese culture warns that nothing good will come from having a high profile, adding that his father recently advised him to limit his own public visibility. But now Ma seems to be inviting even more scrutiny, in hopes that it will answer the questions that have dogged Alibaba for years.