SQL Server IF EXISTS THEN 1 ELSE 2
If you want to do it this way then this is the syntax you're after;
IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM tblGLUserAccess WHERE GLUserName ='xxxxxxxx')
BEGIN
SELECT 1
END
ELSE
BEGIN
SELECT 2
END
You don't strictly need the BEGIN..END statements but it's probably best to get into that habit from the beginning.
How about using IIF?
SELECT IIF (EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM tblGLUserAccess WHERE GLUserName ='xxxxxxxx'), 1, 2)
Also, if using EXISTS to check the the existence of rows, don't use *, just use 1. I believe it has the least cost.