This study aims to collect data on budget practices of port companies in southern Brazil. To achieve this, an empirical study was conducted; a questionnaire was sent to three ports in southern Brazil. The results showed that the ports of the region, contrary to the literature, only applied budget practices partially. A major characteristic of this research is the development of top-down budgeting, which is not aligned with the strategic plan, creating potential problems of coordination between departments and motivation of employees, this is also related to the internal evaluation of the results and the partial implementation of control mechanisms. All this shows that the ports of southern Brazil have opportunities to improve their budget practices.